Nocturnus Reborn
by Salzarrotta
Summary: After the events of the "Dark Brotherhood" and the fall of Lord Ix, the Nocturnus has returned to Sonic's world and are rebuilding. But there was a matter that needed to be resolved. The appointing of the new Imperator. And Shade has her eye on Sonic...
1. Prologue: The Beginning

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Do I really need to say anything? No? Good. Anyway, this fic has been going on inside my head ever since I've finish Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. I don't wanna spoil you dudes and dudettes, so I'll keep quiet until you read the prologue and find out for yourselves what's going on. And do please R&R, I'd like that if it's okay... anyhow, enough of my rabble. Read on!

Brief Note:

"__" indicates a character's speech  
*__* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(__) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Prologue: The Beginning...

* * *

From the outskirts of the Green Hill Zone, sounds of metal clanged and banged as a group of individuals worked diligently at building shelters of various kinds. These individuals are wanderers, at least as far as they were concerned after what they had gone through. But despite that, they only wanted one thing out of life; a place to call home.

They have suffered for a very long time, and it is only now that they have been given a chance to live their lives away from their dark past...

It was a subject they didn't want to talk about, nor they care for anymore. But that didn't mean that they were willing to let go of centuries of tradition. With that said, they kept the remnants of their past, and held on to what was left over after the fall of their 'glorious' leader... again, it was a subject they didn't want to talk about...

They were the Nocturnus Clan. A group of echidnas that once lived on Angel Island four thousand years ago. The history of their people were not pleasant to speak or even read about. They were a race of technologically advanced warriors, born and raised for battle and trained to kill without mercy or remorse. They were also the reason for why the world was once again plunged into chaos a few days prior, but that was behind them now. Thanks to a certain blue hero of course.

Despite it only being four days since they arrived at the Green Hill Zone, they have progressed well. Many houses have already been built, and a citadel was already underway, and was being built in likeness and in name to their once glorious base, the Nocturne.

Leading these people after the fall of their leader was the leader's second-in-command.

Her name was Shade the echidna. Her full title before, and even now, is Procurator Shade. The title of 'Procurator' was only given to one echidna of every generation in the Nocturnus Clan. It meant that the person knew the leader on a personal level and had skills that far exceeded any mere Equite or Triarius. Given her title, Shade was asked by many of her people to take the responsibility of being the current leader, for the time being. Though the title of 'leader' was not something passed around lightly, nor did Shade consider the title an honor...

Standing on the foot of a large hill outside her people's new home, Shade looked on with concern...

"They need a leader..." She spoke softly, clenching her fists lightly while narrowing her eyes into slits. She didn't want to bear the title of leader, she found it insulting on both a professional and personal level. Professional because only one person can bear the title of 'leader' in the Nocturnus Clan, and she did not earn that title. Personal because she never wanted to be leader. She was born and raised to serve and defend the leader of the Nocturnus, not become it.

But as Shade continued to stand alone in silence, footsteps ruffled the grass near her, and she turned to face whoever it was that will soon accompany her.

"Equite Xion, at your service Procurator Shade." A soldier of the Nocturnus said as he undid his helmet to reveal a male red echidna with white tipped quills tied into a ponytail. He then kneeled down and bowed before Shade.

"Rise, Xion. We have much to discuss." Shade said sternly, before she turned around to face the Nocturnus village once again.

"Yes ma'am." Xion replied, he then stood up and brought his hands behind his back and looked over his superior. "What did you wish to discuss, Procurator?"

"I need to talk to you about who will become the new leader of the Nocturnus Clan. To be more precise; the new Imperator." Shade explained without hesitation, not even bothering to face Xion.

The seriousness that Shade carried rattled Xion a bit, but not enough to lose face. He perfectly understood why Shade wanted to discuss this matter.

"I understand." Xion said, looking to his side a little as he thought of whether or not to voice his opinion on the matter. "Permission to speak, ma'am." He braved to asked, trying to be formal so as to avoid any unnecessary scolding from Shade if possible... she has a funny way of calling hand-to-hand combat 'scolding'...

"Permission granted. Speak freely, Xion." Shade said, still serious in her tone and still standing with her back turned, and Xion sighed mentally with relief.

"Yes ma'am. Well, I know you have declined the offer of Imperator several times, but..." Xion hesitated, and bit his lip lightly, his nervousness returning. "...can't you reconsider? You would make a great Imperator."

As Xion voiced his opinion, he was only met with silence. He sighed dejectedly and wringed his wrists nervously. "...Sorry ma'am... I... I didn't mean to impose..."

"It's fine." Xion heard Shade reply as she turned to face him with her steel clad eyes. "But again, I must decline this offer."

"But... if I may be so bold as to ask, why?" Xion asked, no longer nervous but now concerned. He and most of the other officers didn't quite understand why Procurator Shade didn't wish to become Imperator. It didn't make sense to him... Shade had the makings of a great leader. Why wouldn't she accept the highest mantle of the Noctunus?

As Xion asked his question, Shade's steel clad eyes narrowed as she frowned, obviously disappointed or angry at his words. But then, she sighed heavily and turned away once again.

"You and I both know why I can't be Imperator. And it's more then just because I don't want to..." Shade explained with a harrowing tone that sent a light chill up Xion's spine. "The title of Imperator cannot be taken through decision or vote. It is earned... and by our people's law, it can only be earned in one way..."

"Succession through combat..." Shade continued, then paused and turned her head to the side as she looked at Xion through the corner of her eye. "And you and I both know who de-throned lord Ix." Shade said, her glare steeled beyond its usual, making her seem even more unnerving to look at.

Xion cringed a little at her glare, but shrugged it off as he brought his thoughts to what Shade was saying... and as the words 'succession through combat' repeated itself in his mind, he then understood... he knew exactly what she meant... and who she meant...

"You mean... the blue one?" Xion asked, bringing his right hand up and placed it on his chin as he thought deeply. He recalled the blue one's exploits, along with his friends, as he took up the charge to face the Nocturnus not too long ago. He was the first in a long time that has ever stood up against them, and won... and the blue one was the first in any of Nocturnus' history to have ever defeated lord Ix as well. The idea of this person becoming the new Imperator gladdened Xion, and he smirked deviously at the thought.

"He would make an excellent Imperator." Xion said, his voice lined with anticipation.

"Indeed he would." Shade said in a pleased tone, followed afterwards with a small smile. She knew of no other person befitting the job. The blue one, Sonic the hedgehog, was the leader of the band of heroes that fought against them, the Nocturnus, and brought Imperator Ix down. Moreover, Sonic was the one responsible for the Nocturnus escaping the Twilight Cage. The Nocturnus owed him a great deal for that. But what impressed Shade the most about Sonic, was how well he displayed himself in not only in leadership, but also in combat. Shade has never seen someone handle himself so well against her as Sonic did.

*He is worthy of great respect.* Shade thought with a sense of pride that only warriors could feel for others of their kind.

"But Procurator..." Shade heard Xion say, cutting off her thoughts of the blue hedgehog. She turned to face him angrily for disrupting her. She eased up a little bit though when she saw Xion's expression... he looked a bit worried.

"...is it right for us to ask him to be our leader? He has already done so much for us... don't you think maybe we're asking too much already?"

Shade frowned once again at him, and turned away forcefully. She knew well enough the debt that her people owe to the young blue hero. But there was no one else to turn to...

Succession through combat... that was the law that their people followed when choosing who will become Imperator... and Sonic was the only one able to defeat lord Ix in battle...

"We have no choice on the matter, Xion. Sonic defeated Pir'Oth in battle. There is no one else worthy enough to take the mantle of Imperator but him." Shade said sternly, and as she did, she heard Xion gasp at her. She turned to him, eyebrow raised.

"That's the first time I've ever heard you call lord Ix by his first name..." Xion said, his eyes wide in shock and his hand half-way towards covering his mouth.

"Does it matter!" Shade growled, giving Xion a death glare. She has had enough of his antics and stupidity. "He's dead. He's no longer Imperator. Why would it matter if I called him by his first name!" Shade said coldly to Xion, which made the young man bow his head in shame.

"I a-apologize... its just... (sigh) y-you're right, Procurator..."

"Whatever... It matters not." Shade said, her tone still cold. She waved her hand dismissively as she turned her back at him again. "What matters now, is that we need to speak with Sonic."

"Of course." Xion said weakly as he kneeled down with his head still hanging low. "What would you have me do?"

"Gather a small troop of soldiers. I plan to speak with Sonic personally." Shade explained, which made Xion raise an eyebrow, not understanding why she would need a troop of soldiers just to speak with Sonic.

"Why would you need a small troop, Procurator? Sonic wouldn't-" Xion wanted to ask, but was cut off when Shade stomped her foot on the ground and activated the Leech Blades on her wrists.

"Do not question me!" Shade roared at Xion's words. She has definitely had enough of the imbecile. "Just do as I say, and ready yourself along with some soldiers! GO! NOW!"

"Y-yes m-ma'am!" Xion responded fearfully, his body shaking a bit as he stood up and ran towards the village barracks.

As Xion left, Shade was once again alone. She switched off her Leech Blades and raised her hand to her face as she stared at her palm.

"The Nocturnus WILL have its leader..." She said lowly, and then she clenched her fist tightly. "...and no one will stand in my way of getting him..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	2. Chapter 1: Ominous Situations

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: And the story moves on... first off, I wanna thank you guys who took the time to read my little fic here. And I especially thank those who left a review. You guys are great. Nothing major yet, but I think I've established somewhat of a foothold... I think. Anyway, enough of my rabble. Read on!

Brief Note:

"__" indicates a character's speech  
*__* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(__) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 1: Ominous Situations

* * *

Somewhere, outside the local town of the Blue Ridge Zone, a commotion of sorts caught the attention of several people from the town. And to bide their curiosity and contemplation, they decided to gawk at the scene before them. Several armed officers have blockaded the mountain roads. These officers are known worldwide as GUN, an elite government sponsored army who were given the task to ensure safety at any place at any time.

One would think, why would an elite army blockade the roads of a frozen wasteland? Well, whatever it is, the soldiers seem to have it under control, and they calmed the citizens enough to prevent any panic. But that still left the people to be quite curious about the whole situation.

Because it didn't take a genius to know that something weird was up.

Moving away from the crowd, we turn our focus on a certain individual, a young man of sorts, who seems to have found his way in front of the blockade and struck a conversation with one of the soldiers.

"So the road's closed, huh?" The young man asked one of the soldiers, rubbing his chin in thought.

"That's right sir."

"Can you explain it in more detail." The young man asked again. The soldier nodded, whether to humor the young man's request or otherwise.

"Apparently, a mountain of snow is blocking the road." The soldier replied and pulled out some papers from the make-shift desk beside him. "But... we did find something odd..."

"What is it?"

"Although this zone is prone to avalanches, this particular one seemed... premeditated..."

"Really? Hmm..."

"Don't let it bother you though." The soldier said to the young man, setting the papers down and waving a hand dismissively. "I'm sure we can sort it out soon."

"Maybe..." The young man replied in a slight murmur.

"Sir?" The soldier asked as he watched the young man seem deep in thought. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing... but, I was wondering if maybe I could investigate." The young man asked, a tiny grin on his face.

"Oh no, sir. I wouldn't want to burden you. Especially after what happend four days ago."

"Me? Burdened? Never. Just tell the higher ups that, Sonic the hedgehog's happy to help!" The young man exclaimed proudly before dashing off towards the supposed snowfall.

The soldier just watched as the blue speedster rushed off, shaking his head slightly with a light smile before leaving towards the communications tent.

"I'm going to get demoted for this..."

* * *

Sonic rushed through sleet and snow as he made his way towards where the snowfall blocked the road. It was cold... but he continued onward despite the possible frostbite or other cold related ailments that he might experience. It just made the return home that much more comforting to think about.

*Nothing's better than Tails' homemade hot-coco.* He thought, already planning out what to do after looking into the 'strange' avalanche.

As Sonic arrived on scene, he looked at the snowfall. And there was a lot of snow... a LOT of snow.

"(Whistle), that's some avalanche." He said out loud, as he walked about and scanned the damage.

The snow covered the entire road, though he used the word 'road' very loosely since the road was barely visible anyway. There was so much snow that you would've thought that it was just another part of the mountain. Even the trees didn't survive, they laid scattered, some broken, and half-buried in the snowfall. Sonic looked up to see where the avalanche originated from, and saw a cliff like area above the snowfall.

He rushed up the side, and looked over the scene. Almost all of the snow on the cliff was gone, leaving a clearing and exposing grass underneath. Sonic knelt down for a second, and saw something odd on the grass near the edge of the cliff.

"Shrapnel..." He muttered, picking small bits of burned metal on the grass. "This could have been from some sort of bomb... or maybe a mine... probably more than two or three..."

Sonic picked up the more larger pieces and scanned them even more thoroughly than the others. Trying to see if the mine shrapnel came from 'you-know-who'...

"Nope... no insignia..." He muttered, as he laid the pieces down and sighed. "At least its not HIS doing... not this time anyway."

As Sonic stood there and thought of what to do next. A loud explosion erupted from the mountain side above him. He quickly looked up and saw another avalanche rushing towards him. He muttered a cuss word as he panicked and scrambled to think. Then, without really thinking about it, he jumped off the cliff.

*What was I thinking!* Sonic yelled in his thoughts. He quickly balled himself up into a spin dash, hoping to soften his landing. Luckily, the snow was thick enough for him to survive the fall, and he managed to avoid being buried in the avalanche. But as he uncurled himself, promptly shaking away some of the snow on himself, he looked over what the resulting avalanche had done...

The avalanche piled up a lot more snow, more than what was already there and has pretty much blocked both sides of the road, leaving the blue speedster trapped.

"Oh man... what now?" He said, looking up at the pile of snow. "It's far too high and steep to climb, and I can't risk spin dashing into it like this... might get buried..."

Sonic then turned his head to his side and looked at the forest beside the road. *I could go through the forest...* He thought, moving to get a better look. *But I might get lost...* He thought, but as he did, he felt like he stepped on something...

Sonic lifted his foot and stared at what it was he stepped on. He kneeled down, and saw what seems to be a remote of some sort...

*This could be what made those mines explode and caused the avalanches...* He thought, looking at the remote closely without picking it up. And as he did, he noticed the snow next to it had two round-like shapes.

*Footprints...* Sonic thought, looking over them and then quickly looking around to find more. Which he did. *Whoever did this had a sloppy escape.* Sonic thought with a triumphant smile. But then the smile disappeared a bit...

*Unless of course... that's what he or she is doing on purpose...* Sonic thought, squinting his eyes and bringing his hand up to his chin. *This whole thing seems far too convenient... Could be a trap...*

Sonic wasn't sure whether or not to follow the tracks. But he wasn't willing to sit here and wait for back-up. After all, impatience was his middle name. So then, without any other choice, he followed the tracks. He kept at a slower pace than usual as he mentally reminded himself to stay alert.

* * *

Several minutes passed, and Sonic was still following the footprints. He would've found the endpoint in seconds, but he was being cautious. He still felt this whole thing was a trap the moment he realized that it was far too convenient for those clues to be left out like that...

As Sonic continued to ponder the situation, he saw what seemed to have been the edge of the forest. He quickened his pace, but still keeping track of the footprints and still keeping his senses on full alert. As he neared the edge, he found himself in yet another clearing. Along with something he wasn't expecting...

Sonic screeched to a halt, covering his leg up to his waist in snow trying to avoid the scariest thing in his life... Water...

It was a river, an icy river, with a gap large enough to sink a house in. Sonic quickly did a double-take and pulled himself out his own piled up snow. He then backtracked several feet away, not wanting to go through probably the second most traumatizing thing in his life.

"Whew... that was close..." He said, with a tone of relief. He scanned the area, thinking of his options on what to do next. He then recalled that he was following the footprints from earlier. He looked around, but found none... the only ones left were the ones near the edge of the forest. If there were really anymore left, he probably erased them when he screeched to a halt earlier.

"Darn... (finger snap), shouldn't have panicked like that..." He muttered lowly, kicking up some snow. As he did, he suddenly felt an ominous presence about. He quickly cleared his thoughts, and concentrated on trying to listen to anything suspicious.

*Hmm... whether I'm imagining things... or whoever is hiding from me must be really bad at what he or she does...* Sonic thought, standing still as he paced himself for whatever sneak attack that could come...

"...I guess there's no fooling you, is there?" Someone from seemingly nowhere said out loud. Sonic tensed up a bit, as he slowly turned around.

"Alright... who are you-" Sonic asked, sounding serious at first but he cut himself off as he was surprised at who he saw.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" The mysterious individual asked somewhat smugly.

"Four days to be exact." Sonic said with a smirk, brushing off the shock and shaking off his earlier tension. "It's good to see you, Shade."

"And you too, Sonic." She replied, taking a step forward closer. "I must admit, your senses are quite keen."

"Well, you get to sharpen them quite well in the line of work I do." Sonic replied, a somewhat proud gleam in his eye.

"You haven't changed I see. Good." Shade said, somewhat deviously.

"Good? Is change a bad thing?" Sonic replied jokingly.

"Not really. But I prefer you the way you are. It's less complicated that way."

"Is that so?" Sonic said, feeling rather happy. *She sure has a funny way of complementing people.*

"At any rate, enough of these trivial pleasantries. Let us move on to more pressing matters." Shade suddenly said, waving her hand dismissively. Sonic lightly giggled at what she said.

*That's Shade for you...* Sonic thought playfully. "Okay then, let me start. What are you doing here?"

"I came here... to speak to you, Sonic the hedgehog." Shade said, a grin on her face and a puzzled look on Sonic's.

"Okay...? About what?" Sonic asked, he suddenly got that ominous feeling from earlier again.

"Sonic, as you know, you were responsible for eliminating Pir'Oth and saved my people from the Twilight Cage."

"Pir'Oth? You mean Ix, right?" Sonic asked, not quite sure who this Pir'Oth guy was.

"Pir'Oth is... 'lord' Ix's first name." Shade explained disdainfully, stressing the word 'lord' in a way that sounded both hateful and sarcastic.

"Right..." Sonic replied, not sure of what to make of Shade's way of answering. Though he could imagine that there was some malice. "Can I ask why your bringing this subject up?"

"I was getting to that. Though I suppose I should skip the long speech and get the point." Shade said, shaking her head.

"Good. I never pictured you as the type for lengthy speeches." Sonic said jokingly, lightly smiling at the female echidna.

"(Hmph), Alright..." Shade said, shooting a devious glare along with a smirk at Sonic, before kneeling down before the blue hedgehog.

"Sonic, in light of Nocturnus Clan traditions. You have de-throned our previous Imperator!" Shade exclaimed, her head down as she missed the rather shocked look on Sonic's face. "As such, YOU, Sonic the hedgehog, are entitled to take his place!"

"Wait, what!" Sonic exclaimed, shocked and confused over Shade's actions and exclamation. "What are you talking about!"

"Let me repeat myself in a more simplified way. Sonic, you are the Nocturnus Clan's new Imperator!" Shade said, a rather devious smile on her face as she raised her head.

"What! Me, Imperator!" Sonic yelled, not sure of what was happening.

"Yes, Sonic. In our clan, the title of Imperator is passed down to those who can defeat the previous in battle." Shade explained, standing up sternly. "It is known as; Succession through combat."

"But-! I-I didn't even know that!" Sonic said, mixing rage into his shock. "I'm not even a member of your people! How am I supposed to lead an entire clan that I know little about!"

"I'm very well convinced that you can adapt to it quite easily. As shown by your actions when we fought along side each other. You quickly trusted me enough to perform rather excellent battle combinations. And when we went into the Twilight Cage, you brought the four warring races together for a common goal. A feat, near impossible to accomplish!" Shade said, then she brought her hand forward and clenched her fist.

"With your leadership, along with your great skill and power... you will be the greatest Imperator of all time!" Shade exclaimed proudly, but Sonic only looked away sadly.

"But... I can't be the leader of your clan." Sonic said sadly. He didn't want the burden of leadership... not now, not even back then... he just always seems to be placed in that position. But compared to those moments, this is a whole new level of leadership... and one that Sonic couldn't possibly accept so easily...

The fate of an entire clan is being thrust unto him... that kind of a responsibility is far too high for him to even consider... and one that he's not prepared to handle...

"I'm sorry Shade... there's so many things still left for me out there... I can't simply settle down and accept all of this so suddenly..." Sonic explained, not even facing Shade.

Shade listened, and brought her fist down. She then shook her head.

"No... I'm sorry Sonic. But this is a responsibility that you cannot avoid." Shade said, while raising a finger to point at Sonic. "You have no choice on the matter."

To this, Sonic frowned a bit, and looked at Shade angrily. "You can't expect me to simply agree on that."

"I know." Shade said, bringing her hand up. "But as I said, you have no choice on the matter." With that, Shade snapped her fingers, and a troop of Nocturnus Clan soldiers appeared seemingly out of nowhere and encircled the area around the two.

"You will be crowned Imperator, Sonic. I will see to it that you do."

* * *

To be Continued...


	3. Chapter 2: Battle of Beliefs

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Well, Chapter 2 is up! Man, talk about troublesome... I can't seem to stick to one story... I was originally working on "Separate Ways", then all of a sudden jumped to "Nocturnus Reborn"... I'm having trouble which one I should be really doing! ...But I like them both, so I'll do both, albeit slowly. Don't wanna get my creative juices mixed-up. Anyway, enough of my rabble. Read on!

Brief Note:

"__" indicates a character's speech  
*__* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(__) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 2: Battle of Beliefs

* * *

"You will be crowned Imperator, Sonic. I will see to it that you do."

Those were Shade's words as she summoned her troops to surround our blue hero. Sonic, for his part, stood his ground and restlessly turned back and forth in place as he watched each member of Shade's troops take up positions around him while marching forward slowly. From what could be seen, Sonic counted them to be exactly six. But knowing that they're supposed to be part of a troop, he guessed there were probably more hiding somewhere as reserves.

Sonic knew that he was set at a disadvantage. He had nowhere to go, save for the icy river behind him, and he wasn't going to deal with that. Plus, he knew how well Shade's personal troop can fight. And he can pretty much expect that their well equipped to take him down at any moment. But what Sonic was really concerned with was why...

*Why go through all this?* Sonic thought, still turning back and forth at the Nocturnus soldiers who were already within striking distance of him.

"I don't want this to be any more trouble than it should be." Shade said, trying to get Sonic's attention. "So please Sonic, just come with us quietly."

"Hah...! Like I'd go down without a fight!" Sonic exclaimed, feigning confidence.

"Very well." Shade said, giving her troops the signal to engage. The soldiers didn't hesitate, as they charged at Sonic head-on.

Their choice of formation was unique. They each charged at Sonic at the same time, but one soldier was always two-steps behind the one to their right. Their formation looked similar to a spiral.

The first soldier started with a swift right kick, but Sonic quickly blocked it and brushed the soldier aside as he back-stepped a little. His back-stepping was soon to be a bad idea as another soldier took it to him from behind, taking advantage of Sonic's semi-stagger to do a sweep kick from bellow. Sonic quickly recovered from the sweep, and took advantage of the soldier's lowered position to back-flip out of their spiral prison.

The soldiers were briefly shocked, but continued their assault. With more room to maneuver, Sonic dashed forward to do a homing attack on the first soldier in front of him, knocking the soldier of its feet as Sonic bounced off and back to his earlier position. But as he landed, the other soldiers quickly pressed forward. Sonic reacted quickly by curling up for a spin dash. He charged forward, knocking several soldiers while some jumped away. Sonic then uncurled himself, and darted forward and towards where Shade was standing.

Sonic reeled in his right fist as he charged forward, while Shade simply brought her hands up, ready to take the blow. Sonic began with a straight punch, and using his speed, followed up with a low left jab, then raising his right foot for a mid-kick. Shade easily blocked the two punches with her hands, and lifted her left leg to block the kick. She then retaliated by doing a semi-shoulder tackle to push Sonic back. Sonic took the hit, and was pushed two-to-three feet back, which he recovered quickly and took a stance.

"Brilliant..." Shade said with smile.

"In what way?" Sonic asked.

"Escaping the spiral trap, and dashing forward to attack me. Brilliant." Shade continued, but Sonic didn't reply this time.

Shade then decided to take the offensive, and charged at Sonic.

"Don't be so stubborn, Sonic! All I ask is your cooperation!" Shade said, while delivering several blows to Sonic, which he blocked easily.

"Sorry Shade, but I can't be Imperator!" Sonic replied, attacking Shade with a quick high-kick.

"And why not!" Shade said, catching the high-kick as she tried to pull Sonic off his feet.

"Because! I'm not ready for that sort of thing!" Sonic said, jumping off the ground as he kicked Shade's chest to release her grip. Shade staggered a bit, but recovered and continued the assault, as Sonic flipped back on his feet.

"I'd say you are! Considering what I've seen! You are more than ready!" Shade yelled, doing a forceful low punch to Sonic's gut but missed.

"You can't force this sort of thing on people!" Sonic said, moving forward for a knee-kick.

"I wasn't! You were the one who decided to run away from your responsibility and made me force my hand!" Shade said, side-stepping and following up with a clothesline.

"How is being Imperator my responsibility! That's none of my business!" Sonic yelled, ducking Shade's clothesline and following up with a spinning ground sweep kick.

"It became your business when you decided to involve yourself in OUR business!" Shade yelled back, jumping up slightly to dodge the sweep kick, landing shortly as she drove her fist down to punch Sonic.

"I couldn't just sit by and watch Ix take over my world!" Sonic said, rolling away as he flipped up and took a stance. "Besides, I didn't even know any of your laws! How was I supposed to know that the one who defeats Ix must take his place!"

"Ignorance of the law does not exempt you from it." Shade said, taking a stance as well. "That particular rule is present in both your laws and mine."

Sonic didn't have a reply for that. Because that, was strictly true. Sonic gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly, angrily glaring at Shade.

"Don't give me that look Sonic, and stop avoiding your responsibilities!" Shade yelled, but Sonic just stood there glaring at her.

Shade sighed a bit, lowering her arms.

"This has gone long enough. I'll deal with convincing you later." Shade said, confusing Sonic enough to lower his guard. And at that brief moment, one of Shade's soldiers warped behind Sonic and used a shock wave blast directly behind Sonic's head and knocking him unconscious.

Shade then walked up to Sonic's body and looked at the soldier beside him.

"Good work." She muttered, not even breaking her gaze from Sonic's unconscious form. "Don't take any chances. Restrict both his arms and legs, then begin preperations to warp back to New Nocturne."

The soldier nodded its head, then gestured the other soldiers to help and bind Sonic's arms and legs. When everything was said and done, they all activated their Warp Belts and vanished...

* * *

Sonic slowly opened his eyes, only to be welcomed by a terrible jolt of pain on the back of his head as he returned to consciousness. Sonic lifted his head slightly and viewed his surroundings as best he can. It was very dark, but he knew he was lying on the floor because he could feel its cold surface against his face.

Despite the head pain, Sonic pushed himself up, promptly scratching the back of his head. But when Sonic lifted his arm, he noticed that it was considerably heavier than usual. He lifted his other arm and it was the same. Panicking a bit, Sonic did his best to feel what it was weighing his arm. They weren't cuffs, nor were they chains, they felt bigger than those. Sonic deduced that they were bracers or something.

After feeling around one of the bracers, he felt something trigger. One of the bracers started to vibrate, and soon, a flash of light erupted from it. Sonic was temporarily blinded, but recovered quickly as he looked at his wrist. They weren't actually bracers, they gauntlets, HUGE golden plated gauntlets with strange cyan-colored neon.

The neons were glowing brightly, it was probably what he triggered earlier. The light from the neons were bright enough to illuminate the dark room around him, but only slightly. He then went to work on his other gauntlet to try and brighten the room further. But as the gauntlet turned on, and as Sonic finally got a good look around the room, he noticed something wrapped around his neck...

It was giant collar, which looked exactly the same as the gauntlets only with no neon but bigger in size. Running down the giant golden collar were strips of purple cloth, and further down, towards his feet were a pair of golden plated boots...

It didn't take long for Sonic to recognize what he was wearing. After all, Ix was wearing the exact same thing when they faced-off...

"These are... Ix's Imperator outfit..." Sonic muttered lowly, looking himself over.

"Not anymore." A voice said from within the room. "They're yours now."

Sonic clenched a fist as he turned to his right. And was met by none other than Shade the echidna. Or at least, the glowing neon of her armor. Sonic could barely see her, even with his newly acquired armor.

"Shade..." Sonic gruffly muttered, glaring at her despite not being able to actually see her.

"We need to talk, Sonic." Shade said, walking forward within Sonic's range of vision.

"I don't really feel like talking to you, Shade." Sonic replied angrily.

"Regardless of your mood, you need to hear this." Shade said in a serious tone. "Sonic, you have been a wanderer almost all your life. And I respect that, but... There comes a time when you have to stop wandering and settle."

"Me? Stop? I guess you don't really know me that much." Sonic said, crossing his arms, which was far more difficult than usual due too the gauntlets.

"True. But whether or not I know you, doesn't change the fact that you have a duty to uphold."

"Shade, I already gave you an answer. And it's still, no."

"Indeed. But what you have failed to tell me is: why?" Shade said, a tiny hint of concern in her voice. "Is responsibility that scary to you?"

"It's not that its scary... its just that... taking responsibility means giving up the only thing I really have... and that's freedom..." Sonic said, a sad-like tone in his voice.

"Sonic... taking up your duties doesn't necessarily mean you will lose your freedom."

"But taking up my so-called 'duties' mean having to settle down and lose most of my free-time. ...That's almost like losing my freedom..."

"Only because you make it seem so."

"Whatever. The thing is; you know my answer." Sonic said, turning around to face away from Shade.

"(Sigh), Sonic... let me show you something. Follow me." Shade said, walking away from Sonic and into the darkness. Sonic hesitated a bit, but followed shortly. It was fairly difficult since the only thing he could see of her was her neon lights.

"Here..." Shade muttered, and open something from the darkness that covered the room in light.

*Not again...* Sonic mentally grumbled, getting a little annoyed by all the sudden bursts of light.

"Are you done? Please, move over here." Shade said simply. And Sonic could swear that she was doing this on purpose. Sonic uncovered his eyes and saw Shade next to a giant window, while she gestured him to look out. Sonic shrugged and followed.

"Tell me something Sonic, what do you see?" Shade asked, as Sonic looked out of the window.

Sonic saw some echidnas, normal looking echidnas who are going about their normal day. Sonic couldn't help tilt his head in a 'Huh?' manner as he continued to look about.

"So, what do you see?" Shade asked again.

"I see some echidnas. So?"

"Those are the Nocturnus."

"Again, so?"

"Have you noticed that they're not wearing armor?"

"Yeah, of course. But what exactly are you trying to show me?"

"Those are the people of Nocturnus. Just normal echidnas with no battle prowess what-so-ever, and just trying to get by."

"Yes, I can see that."

"They're also the ones you were fighting against. Well, at least some of them..."

"What!" Sonic shouted, shocked as he leaned out the window.

"Do you realize it now Sonic? These people, normal people, were the ones you battled and hurt during our invasion." Shade said, as Sonic continued to gawk at what he was seeing.

Sonic was a utterly surprised. These echidnas... these normal people, who didn't even seem to look the type to pick-up arms and battle were the ones he fought against... they were just ordinary people... which meant...

"This means... that I... that means... Ix..." Sonic said, not able to fully say what was in his mind. And his mind was just a complete mess right now... but despite that, Shade seems to understand what he was trying to say.

"Pir'Oth was a cruel man. He didn't care whether or not you were trained. What mattered to him was; as long as you were a Nocturnus, you will fight... or you will die..." Shade said, looking away.

Sonic couldn't believe it... he then gritted his teeth and slammed his fists on the frames of the window. That gauntlets seem to react, and a small crackle of electricity surge around Sonic's fists.

"How could Ix do that to his people!" Sonic shouted, as more electricity surged from his gauntlets.

"He didn't really care. I saw us as a race warriors. Even if some aren't."

"Were you... were you like that too..." Sonic asked, now really angry. Evident as the gauntlets were burning through the metal of the window frame.

The question made Shade shiver slightly. Whether from fear or guilt, she didn't really know...

"I-I..." Shade stuttered, hesitating to answer. "...Yes... at the time, while working under Pir'Oth... I never... never questioned his methods..." Shade continued in broken sentences, shame clearly evident in her voice.

"How could you..." Sonic said, feeling angrier than he was earlier. It was one thing taking his freedom. But taking others freedom, and forcing them to fight when they clearly can't... that just really ticks Sonic off more than anything in the world.

"I know... but I won't ask you for forgiveness. What's done is done, as you say." Shade said, trying her best to hide away her seemingly weakened state. Shade moved away from the window, withdrawing back towards the darker side of the room.

"Sonic, if you must know; these people, regard you as a hero, a savior. Despite the fact that you hurt most of their loved ones." Shade said, but Sonic was just silent.

"But that aside, they appreciate what you did, and it would please them to know, that you will lead them. To experience that freedom you have." Shade continued, but Sonic was still just silent. He was just staring out the window, unmoving. But he seems to have calmed down, since the electricity from his gauntlets have stopped.

Shade sighed, walking away further. "I'll leave you here for a while. There's no point escaping though. Your pretty much trapped. But I hope that maybe you'll reconsider."

And with that, Shade left Sonic in his dark room to contemplate. Sonic gritted his teeth, and slammed a fist on the window frame as he muttered a single word...

"Damn..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	4. Chapter 3: Second Thoughts and Change

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Dun dun dun! Chapter 3 has arrived! This one was a hassle to think about... I think I made like 5 or 6 different versions of this before finally settling with this one. Well, I don't have anything else to say at the moment, other than hoping you guys like it, and if not, please don't hesitate to give me some constructive criticism. Alright then, enough of my rabble. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 3: Second Thoughts and Change

* * *

Shade left Sonic inside his 'prison' to think deeply on the situation. She hoped that perhaps Sonic would agree to be Imperator after showing him that only half of the Nocturnus Clan were actually warriors, and that he was fighting normal, harmless echidnas. It wasn't so much a plan to convince him through sympathy, no, Shade was far more calculating than that. What she planned on was to convince him through guilt...

Guilt over beating the living daylights out of innocent people. She knew Sonic to be the type who would never harm an innocent. So in revealing the truth, she hopes that Sonic's guilt would drive him to accept being Imperator as a way to redeem himself. If his line of thinking crosses that thought of course. But Shade had no doubt that it will. Especially after her little speech.

*I know its a cruel plan. But who would I be, if not cruel at times.* Shade thought, thinking over her plan. *I just hope he doesn't take too long to make a decision.*

Shade herself wasn't sure whether or not her plan would work... but she's fairly confident that it will, if given the right amount of time. But the bigger question was; What to do for the time being? It was then that Shade looked out on one of the windows beside her, and noticed a group of Nocturnus soldiers relaxing in the courtyard.

Apparently, the absence of a proper Hastatus has left the green-horn Velites thinking it was free time...

Shade allowed herself an evil smirk, as she made her way out of the citadel.

*Looks like I'll have to 'train' them myself...* She thought, a glint of wickedness in her eyes.

* * *

Sonic looked out the open window of his 'prison', and thought about what Shade told him... from what he could understand from what she said, only a few of the people here in Nocturne were actually warriors... and that some of the Nocturnus soldiers that he and his group had been fighting were actually normal echidnas... He shook his head weakly, thinking that perhaps it was just Shade's way of messing with his mind...

But as he shook his head, he looked out further and stared once again at the people in the square.

*To think... I was beating them up a few weeks prior... well, most of them anyway, from what Shade told me... and that makes me a hero to them?* Sonic thought, a glint of personal shame and hateful mockery lined in between his emerald eyes.

Normally, being called a hero was something he loves hearing whenever he saves people and the world. But being called a hero by the very people he beat up makes the normally uplifting feeling seem a bit bittersweet... and with it, his shame dawned over him like a tree against a tiny flower. But it wasn't the shame alone, oh no. There was something else tossed in between... guilt...

*These are innocent people!* Sonic thought, his guilt driving his thoughts. But somewhere in his mind, he tried to convince himself otherwise. *...Or so Shade claims...* Sonic continued. For all he knows, maybe Shade was just lying... but then again... what if she wasn't? Either way, Sonic couldn't help but give her the benefit of the doubt.

It wasn't so much because he trusts her. Rather it's because he feels far too guilty to question it. Because if he did, it'll make the guilt feel even more worse if he was wrong...

*Regardless of the situation. The fact of the matter is that I... I hurt them... some even to the point that I probably injured them... or worse...* Sonic continued as he felt a jolt run up his spine at thought of what that 'or worse' was.

*For the first time in my life... I... I did something horrible... something I could never forgive myself for... yet, THEY have forgiven me for it...* Sonic said to himself, feeling even more ashamed.

*I need to atone for what I've done... maybe... maybe I SHOULD become Imperator... it's all their asking from me after all...* Sonic thought, looking at the palms of his hands. *But... is that really all I can do?*

Sonic paused for a moment, feeling quite unsure of himself. He has done something horrible... but, he has been forgiven for it. Then it shouldn't bother him, right? But it did. It bothered him to his core. Though truth be told, he never even knew about that some of the Nocturnus soldiers were innocents until now. So he wasn't technically at fault... yet he can't help but feel that it is...

He was a hero. A very well known hero. He has made vows to ensure the safety of the innocent and to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. Knowing he had violently assaulted a large group of innocent people... it felt as if he had committed taboo... a hero's taboo... and it was eating away at him...

"RrrAAAGH!" Sonic yelled in great anger, while slamming his fists again on the window frame and causing his gauntlets to spark electricity again.

Sonic didn't know what to do. Earlier today, he didn't even give this whole Imperator thing any second thought. His answer was 'No' and nothing can convince him otherwise. It wasn't his style to be a ruler of anything. And even now, even as his guilt was eating at his very core, his answer was still 'No'.

Earlier, his reasons for not wanting to be Imperator was because he wanted to be free. He just wants to be able to run around the world without a care as he helped protect it's denizens whenever possible. It was a selfish reason, but a reason none-the-less. At least he thought so. But there was also another reason why he didn't want to be leader. And this reason was a little bit more... well, he wasn't exactly sure, but he knew it's still not a good reason.

*I... I don't know HOW to be a TRUE leader...* Sonic thought, feeling even more ashamed than he was earlier.

It's true though. When it came right down to it, he didn't have the necessary qualities to be leader. At least being THIS kind of leader. He was brash, arrogant, immature, and temper-mental. And most of all, he lacks the knowledge necessary to raise and maintain a nation. He was a leader of action, and nothing more.

From what he has seen from the President of Station Square, there were things about being a leader than just sitting on your butt all day and giving orders. Because Sonic knew that the fate of the nation will be based on the decisions the leader chooses. And if he failed... Sonic shivered at the thought.

*Okay, I need to calm down.* Sonic said to himself, sighing a bit. He knew well enough from experience that panicking won't solve anything. *I need to clear my thoughts and consider my options.*

That was when he thought of his friends.

*My friends...* Sonic thought for a moment.

They don't even know anything about the situation. Was it fair to leave them in the dark about this? Sonic thought that maybe he could speak to them first. Just to get their thoughts on the matter before making any big decisions. But then again, if they knew, they might make the situation even MORE complicated than it already is...

Sonic sagged down into a semi-hunch and let out a massive sigh.

"What am I going to do?"

* * *

The moment Shade got to the square, where those lazy-ass Velites were skipping training, she barked out orders and got the whole squad standing straight and orderly. Though how they got to that position was a whole different story. That scene was filled with equal parts panic, stupid, and very, very noisy. The noisy part was provided by Shade, as she made the green-horns' ears bleed with every fumble and slip that happened during the whole mess.

"Talk about some sorry excuses for soldiers!" Shade yelled, as she randomly punched the first guy, or gal, Shade didn't really care, on the front row.

"Sorry, Procurator!" The entire squad exclaimed in unison. Save for the soldier that got slugged, who was carefully adjusting his or her jaw.

"Now! Usually, it's a Hastatus' job to drill you on the basics of Nocturnus style martial arts. And USUALLY, the training is done in this order: 'Show', 'Copy', 'Memorize', and 'Practice'." Shade explained, walking sternly back-and-forth in front of the squad as she raised a finger on each word after the training order.

"But today..." Shade said sinisterly. Trying her best not to show any signs of a smile. "...We're going to start with 'Practice'..."

And as she said this, a wave of mixed reactions flooded the squad. Some were nervous. Others, confused. But none of them questioned her... Well, save for one brave soul...

A lone soldier from the second row on the front raised his or her hand for what will be his or her final question in life...

"U-um... M-ma'am..." The soldier said. The tone of voice, though shaky, can be recognized as male. "W-what do you mean... start with p-'Practice'?"

And just as the brave little soldier popped his question, every soldier near him scattered sideways. And without a moments notice, Shade rushed to him, drove her right elbow through his face, locked his head in a vice, and slammed his head straight to the ground like a DDT.

Despite him wearing a helmet. It wasn't enough to resist the sheer force that Shade gave out, and a sickening crick came from inside the guy's helmet. Every soldier gave a unified 'Oh!', as they all assumed his skull was fractured.

Shade got up quickly as she stared down at the soldier. He was knocked out cold. Or so she thought, since he wasn't moving and was frozen in place. Shaking her head, Shade lifted the poor soldier up and administered a light electrical shock from her left glove to his left temple.

As the short shot of electricity jolted through his skull, the soldier awoke in a sudden and slight jump.

"That's what I mean. Any more questions?" Shade asked, receiving no answer from the soldier or any of the others. "Good. Now, before we get started I want all of you to give me one-hundred laps around the western barracks. And after that, do the same around the citadel. GO!"

And without a moment's notice, every member of the squad left post-haste. Save for the broken-faced soldier whom Shade stopped at the last second as he tried to join his comrades.

"Sorry I had to rough you up. But I had to set an example. Now, I want you to skip the laps and head for the infirmary. Go." Shade told the soldier, her face devoid of any emotion.

The soldier didn't know what to say. He just looked at Shade stunned. Whether he was stunned because of what Shade just said, or because he was being allowed to skip training by Shade herself, which was considered a mythological miracle around the Nocturnus, no one can really say. But he quickly gave Shade a salute then a bow before heading off to the infirmary.

Shade just stood there, watching the soldiers disappear one by one.

"Your reputation proceeds you, miss Shade." Someone said from behind the Procurator.

Shade spun around slowly, first giving a harsh glare at the caller, but then she softened her features slightly.

"Hello, and good afternoon to you citizens." Shade responded. The caller happens to be one of the local echidnas. A mother to be in fact. Accompanied by her young daughter.

"(Giggle), And people wonder why some of us don't join the Nocturnus army." The mother said humorously.

"Do not worry yourself. I wouldn't have done that unless I knew they could handle it." Shade responded calmly.

"(Giggle), So you're saying that those young men and women can handle being used as dummies?" The mother said, and her daughter giggled at what she said.

"Hahaha... To be fair, calling those soldiers dummies is an understatement." Shade replied, slightly and uncharacteristically humorous of her norm. And the mother noticed.

"You seem to be in a good mood. May I ask why?" The mother said.

"Ah, yes. It's because the new Imperator is finally here." Shade replied with a small smile.

"What!" The mother screamed, shocked by the news. "But isn't Sonic the hedgehog the one who defeated lord Ix!"

"Indeed he did. And right now, he's at the citadel." Shade replied, pointing back at the citadel, specifically the window where Sonic was.

"Really! Wow, to think that our savior is going to lead us-" The mother thought, but was cut-off by Shade.

"Don't be so sudden on conclusions. He's still not quite sure about becoming Imperator." Shade replied, and the mother brought her hand up to her mouth.

"He's unsure?"

"Yes. But that doesn't mean he'll say no." Shade said cryptically. And the mother got a bit curious.

"What do mean by that?"

"He just needs a bit of convincing. I thought if I brought him here..." Shade said, but stopped half-way as a devious smile crept up her face. "Hmm... Maybe you could help."

"Me?" The mother asked in surprise.

"Not just you, but maybe everyone in the village." Shade said, bringing her hand to her chin. "If everyone shows him how much we appreciate what he did for us, and how much we would love him to be Imperator, maybe that'll convince him."

"Oh, I see! Okay!" The mother said, understanding what Shade is getting at. "I'll go gather some people and we'll go and visit him at the citadel!"

"No, that won't do... How about you gather outside the citadel and I'll ask him to come out and meet all of you." Shade said. Her devious smile still present on her features.

"Can I help too!" The daughter of the mother exclaimed, catching the two adult's attention. "I'll ask my friends to come too!"

Shade brought her hand up and patted the small echidna girl on the head. "That would be a wonderful idea."

"Yeah, yeah, and, and, maybe we could give Imperator Sonic some flowers and some other gifts!" The little girl continued, and Shade was shocked.

*She... just called him Imperator Sonic...* Shade thought, shocked by the girl's enthusiasm. She then smiled warmly for some reason. She didn't know why exactly, but she did.

"Do you like Imperator Sonic?" Shade asked the little girl, and the girl rapidly nodded her head.

"Of course! Everyone does! He's our hero!" The little girl said, and Shade just continued to smile.

"Alright then, I guess we had better go and get ready." The mother said, snapping Shade out of it.

"Huh? Oh, yes. I'd better go too." Shade replied, as she watched the two leave to tell the others.

Shade just stood there, looking at the two, as they left with bright smiles on their faces. And although she was still quite shocked at what the little girl said, she couldn't help but smile as well.

*To see my people so happy...* Shade thought, then bringing her gaze up to the citadal and the window where Sonic was. *If only you knew how happy you've made them...*

Shade then furrowed her brows, as she started walking back to the citadel.

*Forget 'training' the Velites. And forget the guilt plan. This little gathering is exactly what I need to convince him...*

* * *

To be Continued...


	5. Chapter 4: Tampering with Steel

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Hello dudes and dudettes! Sorry for not updating for so long... it's the start of a new school year, and you know what that means? More work... and the Professors this year are a bit more demanding than they were last year... ugh... Anyway, sorry for being so quite and off the scene lately... Right! Enough of my rabble! Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 4: Tampering with Steel

* * *

Shade made her way back towards the citadel. Her eyes so focused on the task at hand that she almost seemed unblinkng. Yet despite her concentration, there was something in between that showed an ample amount of giddy anticipation and dark deviousness. She was originally going to bide her time and let Sonic drown in his guilt till he breaks and agrees to be Imperator, but this little gathering is exactly what she needs to break the blue hero instantaneously.

*It's perfect. A little bit of guilt, with some boundless praise and admiration to poke at his ego and some 'puppy-dog eyes' for a no-way-out situation... it's almost too cruel to do...* Shade thought to herself almost proudly as she entered the citadel.

Shade was surprised at how devious and manipulative she has become lately. But it all didn't really matter so long as she got what she wanted...

As she continued her way down the corridor, someone stood against her way, arms crossed and with eyes set in a deep glare that almost seemed demanding.

"We need to talk." The individual said in a serious tone, the voice clearly male and one that Shade recognized all too well.

Shade's right eye twitched in annoyance, though not clearly seen as she held it back as best she could, though she had no trouble holding back her temper as she glared at him with seemingly burning eyes.

The man almost seemed unfazed, but a slight flinch gave him away, and Shade couldn't help but chuckle silently at how easily his determination faltered. As if to save face, the man un-crossed his arms and coughed a bit, as he shifted his weight on his left leg.

"As much as I would love to exchange words with you, I have more pressing matters to attend to. So, if you don't mind, stand aside." Shade said aloofly, trying her best not to intimidate the man any further so as to save whatever was left of his dignity. Despite this though, the man seemed determined and stood his ground as best he could. Though his efforts to hide his nervousness was mediocre at best.

"I'm sorry Procurator, but I think this matter cannot simply be ignore." The man said, trying his best not to let his voice crack. Shade quickly frowned. She gave him a chance...

"Need I remind you that I have pressing matters to attend to? I don't think you'd want your CO to be delayed, lest you want to leave here with your arms attached." Shade said, her usually cold tone colder than it should have been. It sent a shiver down the man's spine. But he stood his ground with grim determination. He was either very brave, or very foolish...

"Again, I'm sorry Procurator. But this matter cannot be ignored." The man said, his serious tone returning. "This concerns your insistence at making Sonic Imperator."

As Sonic's name was mentioned, Shade lowered her head and closed her eyes. She mentally sighed, as she brought her head up once again as she rolled her eyes as they were closed before opening them to meet with the man's own.

As she looked at him, she wondered to herself why he would bring this matter up again. She had made it clear before that this matter wasn't of anyone's concern.

"I don't think this matter needs to be talked about again, Equite." Shade said calmly, lowering her eyelids as she lazily lifted one of her hands and waving it in a dismissive manner. But the man shook his head, trying his best not to falter.

"I don't think so." The man said, taking a brief pause before continuing. "I still think there's another reason why you want him to be Imperator, other than just 'tradition'."

"I assure you, Equite. There's no other reason." Shade replied, bringing her hand up forward with an open palm.

"Yes there is." The man said, adamant in his pursuit.

"Oh, and what makes you so sure?" Shade asked, bringing her hand down and rolling her eyes while turning her head away in a bored manner.

"I know you, Procurator." He said, his tone hinting a sense of concern. "And I know you to be far too calculating to have such a simple motive."

Shade was merely silent. She narrowed her eyes a little, as she stared at him. Her stare had a unique mix of curiosity and annoyance. And did very little to help quell the man's persuit. If anything, it kinda made him want to know even more.

"I ask that you answer, Procurator." The man asked, but Shade said nothing.

"Procurator Shade, I demand an answer!" He yelled, he didn't intend to, but he did. And he just knew something bad was going to come out of it...

"You demand?" Shade spoke, her tone calm yet carried an aura of anger. "You'd do best to recall your position in this conversation." She continued, a little angrier this time and was followed by a cold glare.

The man shuddered and flinched as Shade said those words. No matter how hard he tried, Shade's intimidations are always effective in any situation. But what follows after the intimidations are far deadlier... he'd do well not to overstep.

"Right, I apologize." The man said, clearing his throat. "Will you still answer me?" He dared question again.

"I would hate to repeat myself, Equite." Shade said, her cold glare locked at the man's eyes this time. The man for his part, felt a chill run up his spine as he looked at her glare, which was so focused that it was could very well freeze him over.

"(Gulp), Well, I-" The man began, but was cut-off once more by Shade as she forcefully stomped the iron floor, making a dent...

"This is going nowhere, Equite." Shade growled, and the man stepped back a little and lowered his head.

"Let's just skip whatever clever wordplay you planned and let me tell you plain and simple what your having so much difficulty in trying to convey and end it." Shade explained forcibly, obviously annoyed. The man just nodded at everything she said.

"I have no ulterior motives in my actions what-so-ever. So just drop the matter as of now. Are we CLEAR!" Shade said, yelling at a volume that shook the very walls of New Nocturne. The man for his part, just nodded frantically.

"Good. Now, excuse me. You've made me late as it is." Shade said, and the man was just silent as he moved aside to let the Procurator pass.

As the image of Procurator Shade vanished from his sight, the man turned around to face the wall and banged his head against it.

*Damn you Xion! Why are you so weak!* He said to himself, as he continued to bang his head against the wall.

He couldn't believe how much he messed up that confrontation. He had hoped to get some answers, but instead, he never went beyond what he already knew. Procurator Shade wants Sonic to be Imperator, that much he knew. But what her reasons are for doing so are still a mystery to him. But an even bigger mystery to him is; why does he want to know?

*Why is this bothering me so much anyway?* He asked himself, as he stopped banging his head on the wall. He didn't quite understand why he even wants to know Shade's reasons. He was just an Equite. All he needs to know is follows orders. But... he felt that he needed to know... because Shade's reasons are so... vague... it's making him feel concerned... But that was also another question in itself... why is he concerned in the first place?

*Is it concern for my superior? A sense of duty to help her? Help her in what way?* He thought, not quite sure what Procurator Shade needs help in.

One thing's for sure though; Shade hasn't been like herself ever since she met Sonic. She hasn't been as cold as she was when lord Ix was here... Sure, she's still a bit cold, but not as bad as it was before... she's warmed up a bit... just a little...

Maybe that was what he was so concerned about... how could one man, a man they never even met before, could make Shade change in such a short time... what did Sonic do to her that changed her so much...

*Maybe I'm over-thinking this...* Xion thought, trying to convince himself to drop the matter. He was just an Equite working under Procurator Shade's first squad. He doesn't need to concern himself of his Superior's personal life.

*So what if the Procurator is adamant at making Sonic Imperator... she's just doing her duty, right? (Chuckle), It's not like she's got the hots... for... him...* Xion's eyes widdened as he slowly processed each word that he thought... he never really thought about it that way... of course, he meant it jokingly... but then...

"It couldn't be..." He muttered, straightening himself up as he looked down the hallway where Procurator Shade disappeared to.

"Could it?"

* * *

Shade walked down the hallway to meet up with Sonic and bring him to the square where he will meet with the people of New Nocturne. But with each step she took, she couldn't help think of Equite Xion's confrontation earlier. It has taken over her thoughts so much that she didn't even notice that she was already next to Sonic's room.

Clearing her thoughts as best she could, she raised her hand a bit to open the door. But before taking hold of the knob, she paused as she thought of Xion's confrontation again...

She wondered whether or not he really knew... he acted like he didn't know... but like her earlier, did he really?

Shade gritted her teeth, as she brought her hand away from the door and punched the wall next to her.

She wasn't sure whether or not Xion knows... but... neither did she...

* * *

Sonic quietly and slowly paced about the dark room, playing with the features of his gauntlets. He was working on trying to build up a spark without having to lose his temper, snapping his fingers in differing degrees. But his silent practice was disturbed as he heard a loud bang of sorts coming from the wall across the room.

He turned to that direction and quirked an eyebrow. *What was that?*

But as he took a step forward to investigate, a door swung open from the distance, and light once again poured into the room. Much to Sonic's dismay. Sonic shielded his eyes as quickly as he could, which was pretty quick, considering how many times he's already put through this.

*Take that light!* He thought triumphantly, as he slowly retracted his arm to try and ease into the light and adjust his vision.

"Hello again Sonic." An all too familiar voice called from the distance. "Did you miss my company?"

"Honestly Shade, I do. Considering how nice you are." Sonic replied sarcastically.

"Please, Sonic. You know how serious I take my work sometimes." Shade said, her tone sounded almost playful.

"Believe me, I won't be forgetting that!" Sonic said, chuckling a bit. But he quickly stopped as he looked at Shade seriously. "Shade, about this Imperator thing..."

"Yes, yes, but before that, I want to show you something once more." Shade said, walking up to Sonic.

"Fine... just promise me that I won't have to deal with anymore bright lights." Sonic said humorously as he put his hands to his waist.

"Don't worry, what I have to show you isn't here." Shade said, extending and open hand to Sonic with a smile. "Come, we have an appointment at the town square."

Sonic quirked an eyebrow again as he looked at Shade questioningly with widened eyes as he cocked his head forward. Shade noticed, and quirked an eyebrow as well.

"May I ask why your staring at me like that?" Shade asked.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just surprised." Sonic replied as he straightened up, adding a small chuckle at the end.

"Surprised? About what?" Shade asked again, lowering her hand.

"At how differently you look now." Sonic replied, followed by one of his famous smirks. "It's nice."

Shade stared at him wide-eyed as she quickly retracted her arm and turned on a heel towards the door. As she did, Sonic could've sworn he saw a tint of red on Shade's cheeks. Sonic quickly dismissed the notion, thinking that he merely imagined it.

*She's practically colored red anyway.* Sonic thought to himself. And as he did, he heard Shade clear her throat lightly.

"I thank you for the compliment, but we uh... we should be going now." Shade said, acting embarrassed, and it reflected in the tone of her voice. But Sonic didn't seem to notice.

"Right, right, lead the way." Sonic said, twirling a finger in the air. And before long, the two exited the room and went down the hallway.

As the the two of them did, Sonic went back to his thoughts on the decision he had made long ago... each step he took down the hallway made him all the more nervous... especially this 'appointment' Shade mentioned. He wasn't sure what it was... but whatever it is, Shade wanted it to come first before his answer... which meant that it was probably something to convince him about his decision...

*Well, whatever it is, it won't matter... I've already decided...*

* * *

To be Continued...


	6. Chapter 5: Backseat Thinking

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Hello guys, I'm back! After much delay and plenty of headaches and self-arguments, Chapter 5 rolls in with a vengeance! Folks, I recently got word that concerned Shade's rather... unique personality... two in fact, and I'm a bit confused... One said that my portrayal of Shade up till now is spot on. While another said that she's a tad OOC. Now, I've played the game, thrice in fact, and if there was something I found interesting was Shade's responses to the characters. In general, Shade appeared calm and simply said things to the point and kept it as short as possible. But what I've discovered from certain conversations in the game that on certain moments when Shade is present in the party she gives the player glares along with a cynical response every now and then. So, that's where I picked up her personality here. And about her temper... well, let's just say that she's going through some things that's very new to her... and it's making her a tad bit moody... Anywho! Enough of my rabble! Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 5: Backseat Thinking

* * *

As Sonic and Shade walked down the hallway, silence ringed in their ears like an army of angry hornets. But it didn't seem to bother them at all. They were both far too preoccupied with other things to be bothered by such a small thing. Sonic's thoughts were on his decision earlier. Whether that decision is to accept becoming Imperator or not is still unknown to all but himself. Shade's thoughts were more on what happened a few moments ago...

*That was rather... unbecoming...* Shade thought as she tried her best not to blush once more. She didn't understand what came over her... When Sonic complemented her earlier... something in her just... just...

*What's wrong with me... how could I let myself... ugh...* Shade thought with a defeated expression as she placed her hand on her forehead.

She didn't quite know how to fully describe what happened... but... when Sonic told her how... nice she looked then... she felt... well... She felt like her heart went a flutter with joy. A sense of excitement came to her, as a rush of heat went up her cheeks in a way that felt so... invigorating... But as marvelous as it felt, there was a form of embarrassment that came with it that she just couldn't control.

This was all too unfamiliar to her.

As far back as she could remember, she had never felt this way... There was a sense of wanting in her that she just couldn't quite explain. When Sonic complemented her, she felt so joyful. And there was a feeling in her that she wanted him to say other similar things, if not more. But at the same time, she felt embarrassed... She liked it, but there was a sense of shyness about it.

*What am I doing...* She thought, mentally sighing as she shook her head. *Why am I entertaining such things? It's not as if... I... I...*

As Shade struggled to continue her thoughts, she didn't realize that she had slowed down enough that Sonic had caught up to her. And Sonic, completely drowned in his thoughts as well, didn't realize what was happening and bumped into Shade quite strongly.

"Whoa!" Both of them said, as they tripped over each other and fell to the floor with a powerful thud.

With her guard down, Shade couldn't brace herself for the fall. And because of it, her usually razor sharp senses were at a blurry enough mode that she didn't realize that Sonic was right on top of her... and when she swiftly turned on her back to face up, the tip of her nose brushed against Sonic's...

Realizing what had happened, Shade felt a rush of heat go up her cheeks as she blushed madly.

Shade's eyes fluttered briefly before widening considerably. She didn't know what was happening... Sonic's face was right in front of her... she... she had never had anyone get this close to her before... Never... and the fact that it was Sonic... it stirred something in her...

*I... I never realized... how... how...* Shade thought, her eyes dreamily focusing on Sonic's face that somehow became a subject of interest to her. There was something in her thoughts about how differently Sonic looked... Handsome? Majestic? No... those words pale in comparison to describe the magnitude of how much she adored Sonic's features...

*Adored...?* Shade thought briefly, a tad bit shocked she even thought that about Sonic. But for some reason, she didn't care. Or at least something inside her didn't care. Either way, it didn't matter. She was simply enjoying the view. Though in all honesty, she wished there would be more.

*More...* Shade thought, and along with it, a feeling she has never felt before. Not just any feeling... it was more like... an urge.

Her body wanted something... but she had no idea what. Just then, her eyes looked down towards Sonic's lips... and then it hit her... She had seen many people do it before. As for why, she couldn't really say... there was something in the act of... what was the word... she didn't even knew what it was called, let alone how to do it. But somehow... her body did everything for her...

Slowly... slowly... she leaned forward, her mouth slightly agape as she expectantly wanted to press her lips against Sonic's own. Just to taste what it was like... even for a brief moment... but fate wouldn't grant her the pleasure...

As slowly as Shade closed in the gap between them, Sonic was starting to move away far quicker than she could, as he tried to stand up again.

*No...* Shade thought longingly. She was so close... but Sonic was drifting away... Her inner thoughts wanted her to go further, egging her, coaxing her to do what was natural. She hadn't the foggiest idea what these 'natural' things that her mind demanded. But Sonic was already half-way off of her. Her inner thoughts screamed for her to do something!

*I-! I-I-!* Shade panicked as she tried to sit up. And in her rush, knocked heads with Sonic once more.

"Ow!" They both said in unison as they covered their foreheads.

"Sorry about that." Sonic began, as he carefully rubbed his forehead. Shade doing the same. "I didn't know how anxious you were to get up."

But Sonic's words fell on deaf ears, as Shade slowly collected her thoughts, trying desperately to make sense of what exactly drove her to think the way she did. And more importantly, FEEL the way she did...

*What- What came over me!* Shade thought loudly. At least as loudly as she thought it was... She couldn't quite fathom what happened to her... it was a side of her that she was strongly unfamiliar with.

*What was that?* She continued to think, still unaware that Sonic was kneeling right beside her.

"Shade? Are you okay?" Sonic asked, prodding his finger on Shade's shoulder to get her attention.

"Huh?" Shade replied, her thoughts scattered, leaving her somewhat dazed and incoherent. She then slowly turned to see Sonic right beside her.

"I asked if you were okay?" Sonic said, saying it with a charmingly warm smile. Shade turned to look, and she just melted in that smile. That unfamiliar feeling came back, and she couldn't help but smile back. And not just any smile either. She brought up a smile so warm that it just seemed wrong on her. It caught Sonic by surprise.

"Are you... really okay?" Sonic couldn't help ask again, giving her quizzical look with a tinge of worry.

"Yes..." Shade replied dreamily. Too dreamily for someone like Shade to do... Sonic began to REALLY worry... and feel slightly creeped out.

"Uh... yeah... right..." Sonic replied awkwardly as he stood up, scratching the back of his head.

There was a silence that followed afterward. And it gave Shade enough time to realize what just happened...

Her eyes shot open with shock as she blushed madly once again. Her face was so red that her peach-colored muzzled blended with her quills. She then stood up shakily as she recovered whatever dignity she could possibly muster.

"Yes... well... your concerns are unnecessary... I'm quite well." Shade said nervously as she rubbed the back of her hand. "Let's go... we've wasted enough time."

"Sure." Sonic replied, still feeling a tad bit creeped out by Shade's actions. But as awkward as the situation seemed, the two of them quickly got over it as they went back to meeting with Sonic's 'appointment'.

But what the two didn't know was that there was a little spectator just around the corner. And this little voyeur saw... everything...

"I knew it..."

* * *

As Sonic and Shade neared the end of the hallway, the two of them were greeted with New Nocturne's massive front door. They both stopped simultaneously, with Shade right beside the doors. Shade then turned towards Sonic, her eyes gleamed with seriousness.

"Ready?" Shade asked, a tad bit too grimly, yet her tone carried a sense of knowing that seemed smug.

"Always." Sonic said, as he smirked smugly in return. He wasn't the least bit intimidated. He was more curious than anything else.

Shade nodded, and then pushed the doors open wide. Light poured into the room, and for once, Sonic didn't need to flinch slightly by being blinded by sudden searing light. Although he still flinched slightly. Though for a very different reason.

As the doors swung open, Sonic was greeted by a large crowd. All cheering their hearts out at him. It took Sonic by surprise as he stepped back a little.

*What the-* Sonic thought, but was cut off when Shade took his arm and pulled him forward. As he stumbled slightly forward, he turned back to look at Shade. She just shrugged her shoulders as she smirked. Sonic was about to say something to her, when he was interrupted by someone.

"Hello Imperator Sonic, sir!" A tiny little voice said, as a tiny little hand took hold and pulled on Sonic's robes. Sonic turned forward to see a small girl tugging at his robes, accompanied by several other children.

"I'm so glad you're going to be our new Imperator!" The girl said, with a large smile on her face.

"Well I-" Sonic said, but was cut off.

"Yeah! Our last Imperator was a pretty mean guy!" Another child said, interrupting Sonic.

"Yes, well-"

"Your so cool Imperator Sonic!" Another child said, cutting Sonic off once more.

"Well, yes, but-"

"Your the man Imperator Sonic!" One of the more adult members of the crowd yelled from the back.

"Thank you, but I-"

"It'll be an honor to serve someone like you, Imperator Sonic!" Another one said, this time a soldier.

"Yes, but you see-"

As Sonic struggled with the bombardment of comments and praises, Shade just looked on smiling with her arms crossed while she leaned back on the frame of the giant doorway.

*Good. The plan is going smoothly.* Shade thought. And as she did, she saw a little girl tugging at the side of Sonic's robes. Looking at her closely, Shade recognized her to be the little girl who was with her mother earlier. Shade could hear her muttering 'Umm...', trying to get Sonic's attention. But Sonic can barely hear anything the girl's trying to say because of the crowd.

Shade couldn't let the little girl miss out. Shade stomped forward, determined to stop the crowd as she readied herself to yell. But before she could do anything, Sonic raised his arms upward as he said: "Please, silence for a moment.". And with those words, the crowd went silent near instantly. Sonic then turned to look at the girl beside him.

"You've tugging for a while now. What do want to tell me?" Sonic asked the little girl kindly. Shade was quite surprised by this. She didn't think he'd notice the little girl. But he did, and he paused the entire crowd just to listen to her. Suffice it so, Shade was touched, and very much impressed.

"Umm..." The little girl replied as she stepped back a bit.

"Don't be shy. I'm not mad. Please, what's up." Sonic asked, kneeling down to be in eye contact with the little girl, giving her a warm and comforting smile.

"I... I just wanted to say... thank you..." The little girl said timidly, shuffling her feet as she placed her hands behind her back. She was very embarrassed. So much so that she couldn't even look Sonic in the eye properly.

"Thank me? For what?" Sonic asked, raising a brow.

"For everything. It was you who helped free us from lord Ix's rule... and... and now... you're gonna be our new Imperator... so... thank you..." The girl said with a shaky voice. But despite that, there was a deep sincerity in her words that struck Sonic. It kinda left him speechless.

"But I..." Sonic began, but couldn't finish. There was uncertainty in Sonic's thoughts. He looked away from the girl, unable to bring himself to tell her his answer.

"Are you okay, Impertor Sonic?" The girl asked, her eyes lined with a saddened look.

Whether or not she knew about Sonic's uncertainty was unsure. But she had asked him in a way that she did. And Sonic felt it in her words.

Sonic slowly turned back to look at the girl, and what he saw was something he couldn't believe he would see again...

Sonic looked at the little echidna girl's eyes, and he saw something in them that he could only remember so long ago... Her eyes were lined with a sense of sadness and fear... It wasn't a deep kind of fear that stems from the thought of death or some kind of trauma. It was a simple fear. The kind that children often have. It was the fear of being alone... with no one to guide them... and desperate for someone, anyone who would care enough to look after them...

It was a look that Sonic only saw once in his entire lifetime... and there was only one person he knew very well who gave him the exact same look long ago...

*Tails...* Sonic thought, as he recalled the time when he had first met the young fox. But that was such a long time ago... looking at the boy now, it would seem that moment had only happened in another lifetime... somewhere far away that seemed almost like a dream. But here it was again, haunting Sonic with that exact same feeling he had felt when Tails asked him not to leave him alone...

It was a mixture of guilt and pity... But at the same time, there was a feeling responsibility. The kind only those who have also been left alone in their lives could feel. And a feeling that he didn't want it to happen to anyone else.

Sonic then slowly turned away from the girl as he looked at the large crowd around him. He saw in them almost the same thing he saw in the little girl. Although in varying degrees.

Sonic gave himself a mental nod. This was it. He knew what his answer was...

"Everyone, listen to me." Sonic said as he stood up to face the crowd. "You haven't known me for too long. Yet you would willingly accept me as your leader. I am flattered and all, but I have no idea about how to be a leader. At least being THIS kind of leader."

Sonic then looked to his side and the little girl. He extended his hand to her, and she took it without question.

"But that doesn't mean I won't try." Sonic said, as he turned back to the crowd. "So, let me make it official. I, Sonic the hedgehog, will become New Nocturne's Imperator!"

And with those words said, the crowd erupted with cheers. And as the crowd cheered, the front of the wave of people ran up the steps of the citadel, and each greeted their new Imperator with enthusiastic and happy faces.

Sonic has never seen such happiness before. He has been in crowds before. Many times when he had saved the world, he has had crowds swarm him. Fans as far as the eye can see, and all of them cheerful and glad to see him. But this crowd was different. He didn't really know why, but their happiness kinda made him feel happy too...

Was it because they were echidnas? Was it because they were the enemy once? Or perhaps, it was because these were his people now...

*My people...* Sonic thought with a small chuckle of sorts. It was so odd to refer to them as such. He knew nothing of them. Or they of him. But he will learn. He won't stop till he knows everything of them from top to bottom. And he will share himself with them as well. They will know freedom just as much as he does, and in time, perhaps Ix's taint on their history will just be a long forgotten memory.

And as Sonic shared a rather unique bonding moment with his people, Shade simply watched and smiled, not taking her eyes off of Sonic.

*Oh Sonic...*

But as she did, that all too unfamiliar feeling came to her again... but this time, something came with it that made Shade truly confused...

She brought her hand to her chest and she felt it beat harder than anything she had ever felt it do before... And it only seemed to get stronger every time she thought of Sonic...

*What... is this feeling...?*

* * *

As the crowd died down, Shade escorted Sonic back into the citadel, and they walked down the hallway once again. But this time, they did not stop at Sonic's original room. No. They pushed onward, and eventually, Shade lead Sonic to what will be the place where he will lead the Nocturnus. A giant elaborate door stood before them. Larger than the citadel's own front doors, and adorned with the same runic markings on Sonic robes.

"Welcome to the throne room, Imperator Sonic." Was Shade's words as she pushed the doors open and gestured Sonic in. Sonic was at awe. He had never seen such a grand room. It was large, and it was surrounded by glowing runic markings on steel plated floors and walls. Yet the despite it's steel-clad look, the room was also draped with purple and gold tapestries, and around the room, windows upon windows so large that you could see the sky from any angle other than the ceiling. And there, at the far end was the throne.

It was a seat like you couldn't imagine. The seat itself was built onto the wall itself, with it's back-rest rising all the way up to the ceiling. It was gold in color, and was surrounded by light-blue neon. The throne looked the same in design as Sonic's now Imperator gauntlets. But as grand as the room was, Sonic couldn't fully admire it just yet. There was one last thing he wanted to say before this all became his.

"Shade, I need to talk to you." Sonic began, approaching Shade near the center of the room.

"Yes, Imperator?" Shade asked, turning to face Sonic and ending with a bow.

"Well first off, don't do that. I don't like being bowed to."

"I shall try to resist the need for it my lord." Shade replied half laughing as she stood up straight with her arms behind her back, smiling at Sonic.

"Are you teasing me?" Sonic asked, putting his hands to his waist as he tapped his foot, ending with a raised brow and his usual smirk.

"Perhaps." Shade replied, tilting her head up as she looked at Sonic.

"Yes, yes, that's nice, but listen... there's something I need to say..." Sonic said, turning serious.

"And that is?" Shad replied, turning serious as well as she straightened herself up.

"I know that I'm Imperator now. But despite that, there's still something I have to do in order for me not to have any doubts about my decision." Sonic said, as he walked about the room.

"Then tell me, I shall do whatever it takes to ensure your readiness to lead." Shade said, as she kneeled down before Sonic.

"Um, yeah..." Sonic said, surprised that Shade kneeled before him. "Listen, my friends... they don't know about all of this... and... I need you to bring them here. All of them."

"I see... You wish for them to know?" Shade replied calmly. She knew that was somehow gonna come up sooner or later.

"Yes. I need them to know about all of this. After all, I'm giving up a lot of things by becoming Imperator."

"I understand. I shall tell my unit to pursue and retrieve your friends and bring them here."

"I don't like you referring 'Inviting' them as 'Pursue'." Sonic said, raising his hands and doing the quote-and-quote gesture. "It kinda makes it sound bad."

"Right, I apologize." Shade replied, beginning to walk away. "I shall go and inform my unit now. Please, make yourself comfortable."

And with that Shade walked out of the throne room, leaving Sonic to himself and his thoughts. He knew telling his friends was the right thing to do. After all, they had the right to know. But the question that has Sonic worried about the meeting was how they would all react... especially two very particular people...

"This will not end well..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	7. Chapter 6: Suspenseful Shock and Awe

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: And here we are at chapter 6. Not much to say really... probably a sorry or two to the readers for updating so slowly... Bad Sol! Bad! Anyway, after chapter 5, I think we all know what's coming next. Before we go any further I want the readers to know that no matter what happens, I will not give up on writing this story. I owe it not only to myself, but for those who have read this story so far, (And thank you for the reviews, I very much appreciate them). Anyway, enough of my nonsensical babbling. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 6: Suspenseful Shock and Awe

* * *

The grand citadel of New Nocturne is a sacred place. It is a re-creation of the original that fell into ruin during the final battle at the Twilight Cage. It was usually silent, since the Nocturnus hold a form of respect for the place by not speaking higher than they should. However, despite the lack of Nocturnus soldiers or citizens in the citadel at the moment, voices could be heard. And it all came from the room where Sonic was only till recently locked up.

It was dark then, but not now. The room was very well lit. As it should be since the guests wouldn't be able to see each other well enough to talk. Which in this case, they all didn't seem to want to shut up...

"What's this all about?" One of the aforementioned guests said, as he took a seat in what seems to be a metallic couch.

"I don't know. But Shade said it was urgent." Another of the guests said as he paced about with his hand to his chin.

"Don't worry about it Tails. We'll find out soon enough." A female guest said, as she patted the shoulder of the pacing young fox. "Besides, whatever it is, I'm sure my Sonic will be here!"

"I'm sure he will Amy." Tails replied, chuckling a bit as he watched Amy go into one of her 'dream' states.

"Hmph... This is a waste of time..." Another guest said, as he propped himself against a wall.

"Shut up Shadow. If Shade wants us here, then we're here. Understood." The earlier guest sitting on the couch said to the dark hedgehog.

"I don't take kindly to threats..." Shadow replied coldly, as he glared at the guest at the couch.

"Neither do I..." The guest answered back, turning to glare at Shadow.

"Now, now, boys. Don't get all worked up. Save it for later." Another guest said, as she made herself comfortable next to the now slightly enraged guest on the couch.

"Keep your hands where I can see them, Rouge. Unless you want to lose them." The enraged guest said to the female bat who sat beside him.

"Must you always assume I'm stealing something Knuckles? I'm not that bad a person." Rouge replied, giving Knuckles one of her seductive smiles.

"Hah! The last time I trusted you with anything, I lost an Emerald and got one of your boot marks on my face." Knuckles said, crossing his arms and leaning away from Rouge.

"I'm pretty sure the scars healed by now." Rouge said, leaning towards Knuckles a tad bit more.

"Just back off, thief." Knuckles said, lifting his arm and pushing Rouge away from him.

"Fine then. I'll just flirt with Sonic when he gets here." Rouge said, crossing her arms and legs as she moved towards the opposite side of the couch.

"Good. Besides, he's got more on him then I do." Knuckles said, turning away from Rouge.

"Oh does he now?" Rouge said, grinning deviously. "I'll have you know, Sonic's got a LOT more on him than you think." Rouge continued, and no sooner than she did, Amy walked up to Rouge and slammed her hands down on the metallic coffee table, which was conveniently placed in front of the couch.

"Back off harpy! I am not gonna let you do ANYTHING with MY Sonic!" Amy shouted angrily at Rouge.

"Last time I checked, Amy, you don't own him. So I'll do as I please." Rouge replied haughtily.

"Why you-" Amy began, almost reaching for her trusty hammer, before being cut off by Tails.

"Please Amy, not now." Tails said nervously, trying to calm the enraged young lady as much as he could. "Remember what we're here for."

"Alright, fine..." Amy said, calming down as she crossed her arms and turned away from Rouge. "Besides, it's not like Sonic's interested in someone like her anyway."

"Is that a challenge?" Rouge said, grinning mischievously. "Need I remind you who he flirts with constantly." Rouge said proudly.

"So! Have either of you dated! I don't think so!" Amy replied, her anger rising again.

"Neither have you, as I recall." Rouge said smugly.

"Alright! That's it! I'm gonna-"

"ENOUGH!" A voice boomed form across the room. "I did not send for all of you just so you could fight each other!"

"Shade's right." Knuckles said, as he saw the female echidna enter the room. "Amy, Rouge, sit down and be quiet."

And with that, the two ladies reluctantly moved away from each other. Although not before giving the other a death glare.

"Thank you Knuckles." Shade said, entering the room and walking over to the group of 'friends'. "Now then, let's get to the matter at hand."

"Good, and make it quick, I have better things to do than listen to any of you all day." Shadow said, still propped up at the corner.

"I'd watch your language if I were you, Shadow." Shade said threateningly, pointing a finger at the dark hedgehog. "Unless you want to get hurt. Again."

Shadow simply didn't reply and turned away from Shade while he muttered to himself.

"So why did you send for us Shade? Does it involve the Nocturnus?" Tails asked.

"No, not necessarily." Shade said calmly before turning slightly to gesture towards the door. "It involves him."

Everyone turned towards the door, and as they did, they all dropped jawed and gasped.

"Hey guys..." The figure at the door said nervously with a slight wave of his hand.

"Sonic!" Nearly everyone yelled in unison. Shadow was the only one who didn't yell, as he bit his lip to resist the urge to do so. As everyone gawked at Sonic, the blue hero felt somewhat awkward about the whole situation.

*Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea...* Sonic thought, looking at his friends' stares. Shade looked at Sonic's somewhat distraught face and got a bit ticked off.

"Guests or not, I suggest all of you to stop gawking at Imperator Sonic." Shade said with a slightly raised voice.

"Imperator... Sonic...?" Tails said, tilting his head slightly.

"What's going on here?" Rouge butted in, standing up from the couch.

"Please, everyone, calm down. I'll explain everything." Sonic said, placing his hand to his forehead as he looked somewhat dismayed.

* * *

Everyone, including Shade and Sonic, sat on the circle of couches as Sonic began to explain everything. It took a bit of time to slowly explain what has happend for the past ten hours. Especially to Tails, who asked questions constantly about the whole situation. Amy on the other hand was quiet for the most part, as well as Knuckles and Shadow. Rouge on the other hand had an odd gleam in her eye, as well as a very dirty grin while she quietly stared at Sonic. Shade, for her part, was glaring at the female bat.

*She's planning something...* Shade thought, clenching her fists tightly. Shade wasn't entirely sure what the white bat was planning, but she knows it can't be good. She has been tempted several times to crack Rouge's skull open because of it. But she held back as much as she could, for Sonic's sake.

"Is this all really true?" Tails asked once more, still unsure if this was all really happening.

"It is little buddy. And there's nothing I can do." Sonic replied, taking Tails' shoulder. "I'm sorry if I didn't tell you sooner."

"No... It's fine. But still... How are we going to hang out now?" Tails asked, saddened by the idea that he might not see his adoptive big brother anymore.

"I'm sure we can still hang out, Tails." Sonic said, reassuring his little buddy before turning to face Shade. "Right Shade?"

"Huh?" Shade said, completely caught by surprise as her thoughts of beating the living daylights out of Rouge were interrupted.

"I said; Tails can still hang out with me right?" Sonic said, repeating his question.

"Of course. As Procurator, I will aid you in any of your daily activities to ensure that you'll have enough free time for leisure. That includes interacting with your friends." Shade said, shifting her gaze back and forth between Sonic and Tails.

"See Tails, no problem." Sonic said to Tails, but the little fox still seemed a bit saddened.

"I don't know..." Tails said weakly, he almost sounds like he's about to cry. Shade quickly thought of a solution. And there was only one she could think of.

"Perhaps you can move here in New Nocturne, Tails." Shade suggested, to which Sonic and Tails looked at her with wide eyes.

"Really?" The two said in unison, Tails' tone sounded joyful, but Sonic's tone sounded more like he was unsure.

"Of course. You're Imperator Sonic's closest friend, and a mechanical genius. We could use someone like you. You can take up residence here in New Nocturne. You can even bring your workshop here." Shade continued, giving the young fox a small smile.

"That would be great! What do you think Sonic?" Tails asked, wanting to know Sonic's ideas on the situation.

"I don't know... I mean, what about Station Square? And GUN? Didn't you promise them your support?" Sonic asked his little brother, to which Tails smiled at him.

"GUN can take care of themselves. They're an organization of well-trained individuals. And plus, they already have Shadow and Omega working with them." Tails explained, pointing at Shadow in the corner.

"Indeed, GUN can handle its own affairs. Me, Omega, and the Commander will ensure the safety of Station Square and the world. We don't need half-pint here helping out." Shadow said simply, not even looking at Sonic or Tails as he simply looked out the window.

"See, Sonic. And besides, if anything does happen, I'll be here to inform you." Tails said enthusiastically.

"Really? How?" Sonic asked, tilting a brow.

"I have radio communications with GUN in my workshop. Once I bring all my stuff here that is."

"I think that's an excellent idea." Shade said, catching Sonic's attention. "With Tails here, we would know if the world is in any danger."

"You mean, I can still go out and save the world?" Sonic asked, to which Shade nodded.

"Of course. And, as Imperator, you have access to the Nocturnus army. And we'll do anything under your orders, my lord." Shade explained.

"That's right Sonic! You'll never have to worry about having to battle Eggman's robot army alone anymore." Tails said.

"But that was always the fun part." Sonic said in teasing whine. "Alright, alright, your gonna move in even if I said no anyway." Sonic continued, ruffling the fur on Tails' head.

"It's settled then. I'll have some of our soldiers to pick up Tails' equipment." Shade said, a small smile on her face as she watched the two share a brotherly moment.

"Thanks Shade." Sonic said with smile, to which Shade gave a nodding bow. "Now then, moving on..." Sonic continued, turning towards Amy...

Sonic wasn't sure what to say to Amy. The whole situation just seemed difficult to talk about with her. He knows well enough that Amy still thinks that he's her boyfriend, which is something Sonic has had to deal with for most of his life. He never really accepted her as his girlfriend. But he has never denied it either. Mostly because Amy never gives him an opportunity to do so.

But even though they're not really in a relationship. The whole situation makes it seem so. And it's making Sonic feel awkward and nervous... mostly because he knows EXACTLY what's gonna happen when Amy's pissed off...

"Amy..." Sonic called out softly, but Amy didn't seem to respond. Amy just sat there, her head tilted downwards, with her face near expressionless. Save for shock.

"Listen Amy, I... I don't know what to say..." Sonic continued, and still, Amy didn't respond. "I don't really know if you're listening or not, but..."

"So... your Imperator, huh...?" Amy asked, somewhat dimly and emotionless.

"Um... yes I am..." Sonic answered, still a tad bit nervous.

"That's... kinda like a king... right?" Amy continued, still not showing any emotions.

"I guess so..." Sonic replied, finding the question odd.

"That... is so... COOL!" Amy blurted out, nearly jumping off her seat as she beamed brightly towards Sonic.

"Wait, what?" Sonic said, taken a-back slightly, shocked by what she said and her outburst.

"This is probably the greatest thing that's ever happend in my life!" Amy exclaimed dreamily, hugging herself tightly as she just beamed with joy.

"I expected you to be disappointed, Amy." Tails said with a nervous chuckle.

"Disappointed? Why would I be? This is every girl's dream!" Amy said, standing up and taking a dramatic pose. "Me, a lowly commoner of a girl, having an affair with you, the king himself! It's just like a fairytale! It's so perfect!" Amy continued, with sparkles in her eyes and a smile that reached from ear-to-ear.

"Well, I'm glad she's taking this so well." Sonic said, also with a nervous chuckle.

"Too bad her dream will never come true." Shade said, almost coldly in a low voice.

"Huh? Why is that?" Sonic asked, surprised by Shade's words and tone.

"Huh? Oh! Um, ah, heh heh, it's nothing! It's just that..." Shade nervously said, surprised that Sonic heard her, and surprised that she even said it herself.

"What do you mean that Amy's dream won't come true?" Tails this time said.

"Well... being Imperator, Sonic will have to be paired with someone that can live up to his standards." Shade continued, trying to shake away her nervousness.

"Live up to his standards? What does that mean?" Tails asked again, curious to know what Shade meant.

"As Imperator, Sonic is at the highest position in the Nocturnus clan. As such, he can only be paired up with a woman who's rank is near elite. Ranks such as Decurion, Praetorian, or Procurator. Procurator being the highest and Decurion being the lowest." Shade continued, her nervousness gone.

"I see... but... why? Isn't Sonic allowed to choose who he wishes to marry?" Tails asked once again.

"You must understand, it's our tradition." Shade simply replied.

"Well, we wouldn't want to break tradition Tails!" Sonic said with smile and a tone thickly lined with joy and excitement.

"Huh? Why are you suddenly so... Oh... (chuckle), I get it. You are just loving that, aren't you Sonic?" Tails said with a sly smile and a raised brow.

"You bet! Now I have an excuse to avoid Amy! Oh wait... did she just hear that!" Sonic said in a panic, to which he turned to his right and saw a very ill-tempered pink hedgehog.

"Yes I did, you two-timing blue devil!" Amy yelled angrily as she pulled out her hammer.

"Wait, Amy! It's not about that! I-I-I have responsibilities now!" Sonic nervously countered, bringing his hands up defensively as he slowly stood up. And no sooner than he got up, the two hedgehogs began running across the room.

"Those two..." Tails said with a small smile.

"Such an immature girl. I can see why Sonic avoids her constantly." Shade said plainly.

"Believe me, Sonic can be just as immature when he needs to be." Tails added.

"Not from my experience. He's stubborn, but not immature." Shade continued.

"(Chuckle), Well, you haven't known him long enough." Tails said with another small smile.

"True... but from what I've gathered, Sonic isn't likely to fall for that pink hedgehog. Based on what I'm seeing from their relationship." Shade said, turning to look at the blue and pink hedgehogs running around the room. "I'm surprised that Sonic is slowing down for her..."

"A mystery indeed..." Rouge added slyly. "But despite how cute the two look, I'm sure Sonic would prefer a WOMAN, and not a girl."

"Can we change the subject, please." Tails said with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, I'm sure this matter has been settled. It's high time I left." Shadow said, walking off towards the window. "Rouge, are you coming?" Shadow asked, turning towards the white bat.

"I've already told you I'm busy. Tell the Commander I'm off duty for a few days." Rouge said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Very well." Shadow said, as he jumped off the window.

"Shadow seems busy lately..." Tails pondered.

"I'm sure it isn't anything he can't handle." Sonic said walking towards the three as he carried Amy, who was passed out, and placed her on the third empty couch.

"Sonic? What happend to Amy?" Tails asked.

"Don't really know. She just ran out of steam half-way through the chase." Sonic said, scratching his head.

"She must be tired from the trip over here." Tails said.

"Well, I won't ask. She'll be fine after a long nap." Sonic said as he brushed back the quills on Amy's forehead, and a small sincere smile crossed the blue hero's face.

Shade saw that smile. And somewhere deep down, she felt that she wanted it to be her that got it from Sonic...

*What is... wrong with me lately...* Shade thought, shaking her head and leaning downward as she stared at the floor. Her face lined with stress and confusion.

Ever since Sonic came into her life, Shade has been feeling... odd... More than odd, she couldn't really describe how she's been feeling ever since that day... that day when she betrayed Ix and joined Sonic's group... and from there, she's been... confused... But it's pointless to bring it up again...

*I need to speak to someone about this...* Shade thought, straightening herself up and turning towards Sonic. As she watched Sonic care for Amy, she felt something in her stir. A strange sense of rage and jealousy... she felt herself clench a fist as she gritted her teeth. She stood up, not really knowing why. All she knew that she was very angry...

But then, Sonic turned towards her and suddenly she calmed down. And not just that. She caught a glimpse of Sonic's eyes, and she felt her heart race like it did before. She couldn't move. She just stood there, as she lost herself in Sonic's eyes and her body heat went up a notch.

"Shade? Is something wrong? You look flushed." Sonic asked, raising a brow.

"Huh? Oh! Uh... I... Well, I guess I'm just feeling a tad bit um... warm..." Shade replied nervously, clapping her hands on her cheeks briefly. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, seeing as Amy isn't going anywhere at the moment. Perhaps she should, um... stay for dinner..." Shade continued, sounding a bit hesitant.

"That would be polite, but... no. Mr. and Mrs. Rose might get worried." Sonic said, turning to face Tails. "Think you can take care of her on the trip back, Tails?"

"Of course." Tails said politely, as he stood up and moved towards where Amy was. But as he left the couch, a loud 'Hmph!' came and made everyone turn their attention to a certain red echidna.

Knuckles stood up from where he was sitting, and marched his way out the door. And as he left, he slammed the door behind him so hard that it almost fell off its hinges.

"What's eating him?" Sonic said, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"I don't know. But he was rather quiet the whole time he was here. At least when you came in, Sonic." Tails said, also scratching his head too.

Sonic wasn't quite sure about how Knuckles was feeling about all of this. Sonic can only assume that Knuckles' somewhat negative reaction was likely caused by the fact that the Nocturnus clan is his clan's enemy. And finding out your best friend's the new leader of your enemy can tick anyone off. But that in itself is odd... Sonic knows that Knuckles doesn't care about his clan's rivalry with the Nocturnus. So his reaction must stem somewhere else... of what, Sonic has yet to know.

"I'll have to talk to him again after he blows off some steam." Sonic said, placing his arms to his waist.

"Well, I'd better be going now." Tails said, as he started to pick up Amy from the couch. "I need to take her home and then pack up my things for tomorrow."

"Right then." Sonic said with smile as he patted his little brother's back as he left. As Tails disappeared behind the now slightly broken door, Sonic turned to look at the only guest left. "Well, Rouge. Looks like your still here."

"Indeed I am." Rouge said in a sultry tone, shifting her legs and crossing them the other way. "What now, stud."

"Not really sure. But you're welcome to stay for dinner." Sonic made mention, and he could have sworn he felt the floor underneath him shake. He turned to see a dent right underneath Shade's right foot.

"Kind of you to offer, stud. But I have some things I need to take care of for tonight." Rouge said, as she stood up and walked towards the window. "But maybe you and I can get together tomorrow for dinner."

"I don't know... I'm going to be busy with a lot of Imperator stuff..." Sonic replied in teasing fashion and a naughty grin.

"Good. That'll make the evening something to look forward to. Considering you might need to release some... tension afterward." Rouge said, in a very sultry tone.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Sonic answered, shooting the white bat with one of his famous grins, along with a wink. And with that, Rouge blew Sonic a kiss and flew off into the coming dusk.

"That Rouge. So flirty." Sonic said, shaking his head.

"Do you... like that about a woman?" Shade asked, almost sounding nervous. It made Sonic raise an eyebrow.

"Why do ask?" Sonic asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I'm just simply... curious." Shade said, hiding a blush.

"Well, in the case with Rouge and me, it's kinda like... an exchange between like-minded individuals." Sonic replied, making a rotating hand gesture.

"That doesn't answer my question." Shade said, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"Well, me and Rouge enjoy the same things in life; Freedom and Adventure. So we both see each other as kindred spirits. As for the flirting, well, it's kinda her thing. I'm just simply fighting fire-with-fire." Sonic explained casually.

"I see... And you enjoy that?" Shade asked sincerely.

"I couldn't imagine me and Rouge not doing it. As for with other women, well, that depends." Sonic replied, giving Shade a grin.

"Hmm... You are implying to something I know not what..." Shade said, with an genuinely confused look.

"Really? You need to get out more."

"Right. At any rate, we need to get ourselves ready for dinner." Shade said, moving and gesturing towards the door.

"And what exactly is for dinner?" Sonic asked, following Shade at the door.

"Anything you'd like, my lord. For tomorrow will be your coronation, which will include a grand feast of traditional Nocturnus meals." Shade said, as she smiled deviously. "And knowing your tastes, you might want to get your fill for tonight."

"Oh? You think you have me all figured out do you? Wait till tomorrow, and I shall shock you." Sonic said, shooting Shade a just as equally devious smile as he exited through the door.

"I can't wait..." Shade finished, closing the door behind them, as they left for the dining hall.

* * *

As dinner was done, Shade escorted Sonic to his new quarters. Shade still had so many things to take care of. The preparations for tomorrow's coronation, as well as the feast, will have her and several other high-ranked officers fairly busy for the rest of the night and probably for tomorrow as well. But amongst all of her more... important matters, there's still an issue she needs to resolve...

Shade brought her hand to her chest, and as usual, it was as normal as can be. But as she closed her eyes and thought of Sonic, her heart began to race again... and she felt that all too familiar feeling of warmth well up inside her.

*These feelings... I need to know what they are...* Shade thought, as she calmed herself and continued her way out of the citadel.

*There's only one person I can talk to about this...*

* * *

To be Continued...


	8. Chapter 7: A Long Overdue Talk

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: And here we are at chapter 7. Looking over the game again, I took the time to imagine what the Nocturnus clan's houses might look like. We all know the Nocturnus are highly advanced, and that most of the things that they have look very metallic and dark. Including their original base the Nocturne. I have concluded that their homes probably look like the one's that the Zoah live in, except that they have the Nocturnus neon lines on them, and they probably vary in colors, though mostly in light blue. I just wanted to bring that up so that we're all at the same page of what the houses look like in case I have to write about them in detail.

Surprisingly, this chapter gave me a lot of problems... especially how to end it... hopefully you guys will like it, though I found it a bit cheesy... although talking about love more often then not ends in something cheesy...

Anyway, enough of me talking. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 7: A Long Overdue Talk

* * *

_I will go with the hedgehog..._

_You stay away from him, witch...!_

_

* * *

_

_Please... I wish to be of use..._

_

* * *

_

_We will not fail..._

_

* * *

_

_You impress me, Sonic the hedgehog..._

_You're not so bad yourself, Shade..._

_Thank you... From you, that is a compliment..._

_

* * *

_

_We have a difficult fight ahead of us, Sonic... I go with you knowing that Ix will most likely kill me..._

_Then why did you choose to help us then...?_

_I... We have a lot to do... Let's go..._

_

* * *

_

_That's a nice thought, but I wouldn't hold my breath..._

_People can sometimes surprise you... Take you for example..._

_

* * *

_

_Perhaps you can use my Warp Belt to put together a new Dimensional Buffer..._

_What is a Warp Belt exactly...?_

_My people use Warp Belts to cross dimensions... The belts create a bubble of Twilight space around us..._

_Wouldn't using your belt leave you stranded here...?_

_It would, yes... But I don't deserve to live on your world... Not if I led a tyrant there to destroy it..._

_Of course not... You could always come back with us through the wormhole..._

_I- I'd be humbled if you'd bring me back with you... I, who led Lord Ix to your world..._

_

* * *

_

_Besides, Lord Ix knows you're coming... He put up a repulser field and surrounded the Nocturne with starfighters... Even the Cyclone wouldn't make it through there..._

_You still admire Ix, don't you...?_

_No... I am a realist... I'm trained to recognize a lost cause and to avoid wasting energy fighting the inevitable..._

_Looking at the odds, I'd say my team seems to be the lost cause if you compared it to Ix's..._

_True..._

_Then why did you choose to help us then...?_

_I... I... I..._

_

* * *

_

Shade slowly opened here eyes, her vision blurry from the long night's sleep. She pushed herself up slowly, yawning a bit as she stretched her arms wide. Thinking to herself for a moment, she tried to recall her dream... No doubt that perhaps her dreams have altered slightly after sometime, but this night's dream was the closest to what she could recall as to the conversations she had with Sonic long ago...

If anything could be picked up from her past visions, she never did give Sonic her reason as to why she chose to help them. But even if Sonic asked her again now, she couldn't answer him. For she never really knew why she did choose to help Sonic... She just... felt it. She felt that Sonic would succeed in defeating Ix, even if all logic told her it was impossible.

She couldn't really say for sure what that feeling was then. But when she saw Sonic's determination, his strength, his speed, he was just so... so... so...

Shade began to blush deeply again as she felt her body warm up slowly. Her heart began pounding, and she felt short of breath. Even thinking of Sonic in any way triggers that strange and alien feeling in her. It was the same as it was when they first met. But back then, it wasn't as intense as it was now...

Shade clenched her hands and exhaled deeply, calming herself as she got off her bed and walked over towards her shower. She knew that today was Sonic's coronation, and that she and the other elite officers were working really late last night to prepare for this coming afternoon. But before the festivities, she needs to settle this... She needs to know what these feelings are...

She's going to meet with the one person that can hopefully answer all of her questions.

* * *

After finishing her morning routine, Shade got herself ready with her usual battle-suit. She refuses to wear anything else or even put on those various colored powders and that odd red stick that can paint. Apparently they are to be applied to your face. But it's odd to apply paint on your face unless it's for camouflage or for war purposes. To have them on casually everyday... It all just seems silly.

Truth be told, these colorful objects are still quite new to her people. But during the small amount of time back in this world, New Nocturne has been visited by merchants and vendors of various kinds. And during that time, modern culture has dug it's way through theirs so quickly that it was alarming...

Not that it mattered since her people rather liked these items. Particularly the women. They find these objects fascinating, and Shade has seen several of them walking around the village. They say it makes some of the men swoon over them. Shade doesn't know whether or not they work, but she's not willing to indulge in such a ridiculous act.

*I fail to see the purpose in it.* Shade thought to herself, shaking her head in disapproval as she saw one of those women with them as she walked down the corridor of the citadel. But thinking about colorful facial what-cha-ma-call-its isn't on Shade's To-do list today. She had questions that needed to be answered.

She made her way out of the citadel and towards the square, greeting casually to the citizens as they busied themselves in preparing for Sonic's coronation. Everyone was carrying such broad smiles and joyful expressions that Shade herself couldn't help but smile as well. As she walked by a few people, an old couple caught her attention and asked her how Imperator Sonic was doing. As innocent as the question was, it kinda made Shade blush lightly as a rather odd thought passed her mind.

She stammered a response and left as quickly as she could, passing by some of the local merchants, as well as the visiting merchants, some of which offered her those colored powders. She made her way towards a short street section where a small group of houses are lined up. Shade went passed the first row of houses and went over towards a particular metallic home with dark red neon.

"This is it..." Shade muttered as she looked over the quaint metallic hovel. She slowly raised her arm and readied her fist to knock on the door. But before she did, she gave out a long and heavy sigh, as she clenched her fist tighter before knocking on the door and saying: "Is anybody home?"

There was no response at first, but after a long delay, she heard some locks open and a voice from behind the door said: "What is it? I have things to prepare for and-" The person who spoke stopped in mid sentence with unbelievable shock as the door swung open to reveal Shade standing outside. Need-less to say, it was odd to be personally visited by the Procurator.

"Well, fancy seeing you here..." The person said looking down on Shade as she stood there looking up at a large light red male echidna, clad in typical Nocturnus armor with dark red neon. He was taller than Shade, at least by a good five inches and definitely older and more muscular. He had a very strong presence about him. But compared to Shade's own strong presence, Shade outweighs his by a few notches.

"Indeed. May I come in?" Shade said plainly, not breaking eye-contact with the large echidna.

"...Sure..." The male echidna replied plainly as well, standing aside as Shade made her way in.

"It has been... Some time... Praetorian Rufous." Shade said, making her way towards the living room and sat herself on the couch.

"That's putting it mildly... Procurator Shade." Rufous replied, as he closed the door and joined Shade in the living room and sitting on a couch opposite Shade.

There was a bit of an awkward silence, as the two simply sat and stared at each other. Both unsure of who should speak first. But Rufous believed that perhaps he should begin.

"What brings you here, Procurator. I'm sure this isn't some simple visit." Rufous said plainly as he crossed his arms.

"Believe me, this visit is anything but simple." Shade replied plainly, placing her hands on her lap, as she leaned forward slightly. "I need to speak to you about some strange... feelings that I've been having as of late..."

"Strange feelings?" Rufous said, raising a brow as he stared at Shade oddly before chuckling lightly to himself. "Perhaps you've had your first brush of guilt after all these years."

"Rufous... this is serious." Shade answered, looking somewhat flushed as she felt the urge to smack the male echidna.

"Alright, alright. Sorry, please, go on." Rufous gestured her to continue, to which Shade cleared her throat a bit.

"(Ahem), Okay... As I have said, I've been having these odd feelings lately. Not only that, but I also find my mind constantly preoccupied with odd thoughts." Shade said plainly, trying her best to stay calm as Rufous simply sat and listened.

"I find it tedious and distracting. But... I admit that, despite these odd thoughts and feelings, I find them a comfort to have." Shade continued, and Rufous just nodded as he continued to listen, not showing any emotion.

"And who or what exactly are you thinking about?" Rufous asked plainly.

"Well, I-" Shade hesitated, suddenly feeling nervous for some reason.

"What's wrong? I can't help if you don't tell me." Rufous said, and Shade looked at him nervously before taking in a small gulp. Rufous quirked an eyebrow. Confused over why Procurator Shade was so nervous about.

"Well, I've been thinking about Imperator Sonic..." Shade said the last part in a low whisper, nervous over mentioning Sonic's name.

"I heard the word Imperator. Are you talking about lord Ix..." Rufous said, before he grinned deviously. "...or lord Sonic?"

"Well..." Shade began, then trailed off for a moment as she inhaled and exhaled, trying to brush off her nervousness. "...It's Imperator Sonic."

"Imperator Sonic? Truly?" Rufous said, sounding a bit excited as he edged forward on his seat.

"Yes. I find my mind often drifting off to think of him. I often think of him on random subjects, like; How was he doing? Did he sleep well? Is there something he wanted that I could help with? Does he need me by his side and keep him company?"

"Interesting." Rufous said, still grinning a bit as he listened intently.

"Although in retrospect, I think those are just basic concerns. But I find it odd that I'm constantly worrying about his well-being. Though mind you, this only began yesterday after his little meeting with his friends." Shade continued.

"I see... But what about these feelings you have mentioned earlier." Rufous asked.

"Ah yes, the feelings. Let's see... before, when Imperator Sonic gave me a complement, I felt... I-I felt my heart skip a beat as it fluttered strongly with joy." Shade said, putting her hands together finger-on-finger.

"It was a strange feeling, and nothing I've ever felt before. It was..." Shade paused, a small smile forming on her features as she lightly blushed. "...nice... and I felt a rush come over me like you wouldn't believe! ...But despite that, I felt embarrassed at the same time."

"Interesting..." Rufous answered, bringing his grin down to a small smile as well.

"But that wasn't as odd as when we were... close to each other..." Shade began, her blush deepening.

"Close to each other?" Rufous asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees. "What do you mean?"

"I... fell..." Shade said, and Rufous shot her a skeptical glare. "But only because I had my thoughts pre-occupied at the time and my guard was down!" Shade said defensively, as she huffed under her breath.

"Right, right." Rufous replied, rolling his eyes playfully, continuing to smile.

"Moving on. (Ahem), As I said, I fell. And Imperator Sonic fell on top of me. As to why, I don't know. But as he fell on me, I tried to get back on my feet, and as I did, I found myself face-to-face with him." Shade explained, as she watched Rufous' reaction. He didn't show any emotion. He simply listened and smiled.

"As I looked up at Imperator Sonic's face, I found myself captivated by his features. I found him quite... handsome..." Shade said happily, and Rofous drew back as he looked at Shade with an odd stare and a crooked smirk.

"Handsome?" Rufous managed to say through his crooked smirk. It was the only thing he could say at the moment, given his surprise over what Shade said.

"Yes. That is the appropriate word to describe a male with good looks, yes? But if I were to describe him, every inch of muscle that curves across his face accentuates his majesty in ways I can only describe as a dream..." Shade said, staring off in the distance dreamily.

"(Sigh...), I lost myself then and there... My mind just shut down, and my body began to move on its own, driven by a part of my thoughts that I didn't even know of... That's when I felt it..." Shade said, stopping briefly as she pictured the moment in her thoughts.

"Felt what exactly?" Rufous asked, to which Shade sighed happily.

"I- Don't know... But as I lost myself in the moment, my eyes drifted off to gaze at Sonic's supple, yet strong lips... Then, an alien feeling- no... URGE came to me. I wanted to touch his lips with my own. The feeling was so strange... it almost felt primal. Yet, it seemed so natural. I've seen others do it before... though I do not know what it is called..."

"Kiss."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's called a kiss, Procurator." Rufous said plainly, though as plainly as he said it, he still had on his crooked smile.

"Ah, so that's what it's called. Yes, that is what I wanted. I wanted to KISS Imperator Sonic! My body yearned for it! My heart ached for it! My thoughts screamed for it! ...Yet I did not understand why..." Shade stopped and looked at Rufous straight in the eye.

"I did not understand why I felt that way, and why my body desired for such a thing. Nor do I understand how my thoughts took control of me in that manner..." Shade paused for a second, shifting her position forward on the couch, as she brought her hand up to her chest protectively.

"It felt like a moment of weakness for me... Me, Procurator Shade, losing control to an alien feeling I did not even know of... It was so wrong... Yet, I've never felt so happy in my life... Please, Rufous... Tell me what this feeling is..."

"Don't worry yourself, Shade. You are not the first to feel this way." Rufous said, as he crossed his arms and straightened out his crooked smile.

"What do you mean?" Shade asked, leaning back a bit, but still holding her hand on her chest.

"You fell victim to the world's most powerful emotion." Rufous said, making Shade look at him with a very confused look in her eye. "It's more powerful than sadness. More powerful than fear. It's even more powerful than anger."

"Well? What is it!" Shade asked, feeling somewhat impatient. Rufous gave out a light-hearted chuckle.

"It's called love." Rufous said, moving his arms forward in an opening gesture.

"Love?" Shade said, as she sincerely looked like she had no idea what that word meant. Which is true.

"I'm not surprised you don't know. Considering your up-bringing. Ix, after all, didn't want you being distracted by your emotions." Rufous said, which made Shade grit her teeth angrily at the mention of Ix's name.

"If this 'love' is so powerful an emotion, why was I not trained to know of it?" Shade said, sounding almost bitter, her mood going down a peg when Ix's name was mentioned.

"Because despite love's power, it is, ultimately, a very selfish and unpredictable emotion." Rufous continued, and Shade simply replied with a raised brow.

"Unpredictable, I can believe. But selfish?" Shade said, her mood turning less sour.

"Yes. Love often demands that one be devoted to a single person, who may fully occupy one's mind and heart, to the exclusion of all else." Rufous explained, which made Shade think.

"You make it sound as if this 'love' thing is similar to those people who live together as a couple. Those that become one." Shade said jokingly, hoping to get a similar answer from Rufous. But Rufous simply smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. Shade went wide-eyed with shock...

"No... Don't tell me..." Shade began, unable to finish as she brought her hand to cover her mouth.

"Well, love IS what makes two people become a couple. It's sort of the precursor that will eventually lead to that. I'm surprised you never knew." Rofous said, watching Shade's shocked expression.

Shade slowly leaned back on the couch, as she slowly processed the information she just discovered in her thoughts.

*Sonic... and me... a couple... to become... as one...* She thought, the idea sending a light tickle up her arm as she involuntarily shivered.

"Procurator?" Rufous asked as he stood from his seat and made his way to sit beside Shade as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

"I- No, I- Me and- ...Rufous?" Shade said, stuttering a bit with her broken sentence as she felt Rufous' hand on her shoulder and turned to him. "Are you saying that... Imperator Sonic and I... will become as one? Because of this... love?"

"Well... not necessarily. At the moment, you seem to be the only one feeling infatuated with Imperator Sonic. Unless he feels the same for you, becoming one with Imperator Sonic is not likely to happen. Think of it as a form of strong infatuation." Rufous replied, to which Shade sighed. Although her sigh seemed more like disappointment than relief.

"What's wrong? Do you truly wish to become one with Imperator Sonic?" Rufous asked, to which Shade blushed and turned to him surprised.

"You must be joking! I would never- I mean, it wouldn't- Do you think that's possible? Wait, no! NO! I- (Tsk!), ARRRRGGGGHH!" Shade took hold of her head and bent down towards her knees in frustration as she blocked out everything around her and thought for a moment.

She came to speak with Praetorian Rufous to learn of her odd feelings toward Sonic. She had hoped that it was something easily remedied, or something that is simple and can be easily experienced without worry. But knowing that this feeling is love... and that it involves her and Sonic becoming one... it just surprised her in ways she couldn't imagine.

Shade has seen couples before, of course, it was impossible not to. But back then, she thought that people did that because of a basic need to mate and multiply. She thought of it as a form of primal instinct, which is something she had been trained to suppress for most of her life. But to think that it is driven by an emotion so powerful that it has made her feel things that she both feared and enjoyed... it was simply very unsettling for her... and somewhat disgraceful!

*To think I, Procurator Shade, fell prey to my own primal instincts... It is so humiliating! And yet... I do not feel any malice towards it...* Shade said to herself clearly. It was shameful for her, that much is true. Yet, she couldn't hate herself for it. In fact, somewhere deep down, she liked this feeling. No... If she were to rephrase that, she 'Loved' it!

She has never felt rush like the one she had before, right when she had her lips ready for that incomplete kiss! She can't help but feel a sense of lustful curiosity to know what it would feel like to press her lips against Sonic's and fully experience it! ...But there was something in her that is making her feel that her desire for that sweet confection is... somewhat wrong... Not that the whole thing is wrong in itself, but somehow... she does not feel that she deserves it...

"Shade?" Rufous asked worriedly, as he watched Shade silently clutch her head down for quite a while. Shade acknowledged Rufous' call, and figured perhaps another question needed to be answered today.

"Rufous... I must ask another question from you..." Shade said, as she slowly brought herself up.

"And that is?" Rofous asked, only realizing now that he had removed his hand from Shade's shoulder.

"Do you think I deserve to have this? To feel... love?" Shade asked, and Rufous was taken a-back by the question, seemingly flabbergasted.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"It's such a wondrous feeling. And after everything I've done in my life... I find myself unworthy of such a thing..."

"Don't be. You have redeemed yourself the moment you helped Imperator Sonic free us from lord Ix's rule."

"But still..."

"Nonsense. If you ask me, it's something you're entitled to! And after what you've been through, it's high time you got this." Rufous exclaimed, and Shade smiled as she looked at him.

"Do you mean that?" Shade asked, feeling a sense of satisfying joy overcome her.

"Most definitely." Rufous replied, smiling back. And Shade smiled even broader than before. But quickly, Shade brought her smile down and looked away.

"But... Even if I do feel this way. Sonic does not..." Shade said, her voice almost as low as a murmur. But as she tilted her head down, Shade felt something take hold of her hand. She looked and saw Rofous' hand holding her's as she quickly looked at him.

"That doesn't mean he can't learn to do so." Rufous said warmly with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Shade asked.

"Not all relationships happen in a huff. You have to work on it a bit, show him how much you care about him. Then tell him how you feel."

"Do you think he shall feel the same then?" Shade asked, leaning towards Rufous a bit, and as she did, she felt Rufous cup her chin and lifted her head up a bit.

"You won't know until you try." Rufous asked, again with a warm smile, and Shade returned that affectionate smile. But then, something happened... Shade shockingly pushed herself forward and gave Rufous an affectionate embrace.

Rufous was, of course, shocked. After all, knowing Procurator Shade for so long she wasn't one to openly display her emotions like this. In fact, the whole conversation leading towards this moment seemed all too surreal to even happen...

After a bit of awkwardness, Rufous slowly returned the hug, and the two simply stayed that way for a few minutes. That is, until Shade said something that shocked Rufous like you wouldn't believe...

The words that came from Shade's lips were words that Rufous did not expect to hear from her ever again. They were words that seemed like a star-crossed memory, that the years have decayed into obscurity and emptiness... And yet, as these words came to him from her, Rufous felt that decayed memory run freshly across his thoughts like a cleansing river down a mossy ravine.

And that river flowed strongly not only in his thoughts, but in his heart as well... And they manifested themselves in the form of a lone stray tear across his right cheek, as he shut his eyes and embraced Shade like he was clinging for his very life itself.

He quietly thanked the heavens for this small and precious moment... Never before did these words come from Shade... and for her to say them so sincerely and pure... It made Rufous' war-torn heart beat a steady rhythm that warmed his very soul...

"Thank you... father..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	9. Chapter 8: Meeting the Competition  1

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: A VERY belated Merry Christmas, as well as a Happy New Year to all of you on ! Let's begin my Author's Notes with a traditional Author's Apology... BUT! This time around I have a rather valid excuse! Being the holidays, my family thought it would be oh so wonderful to visit our province! Know what that means folks? NO INTERNET CONNECTION! Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, seeing that I'm no "Net Geek"... no offense to some who relate to that. But again, I apologize for my tardiness in submitting my updates. Anyway, enough of me talking. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 8: Meeting the Competition 1

* * *

After a bit of small talk and a drink later, Shade left Praetorian Rufous' home and made her way back to the citadel to help with the preperations for Imperator Sonic's coronation. Along the way, Shade couldn't help but smile, feeling as if a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. Not only did she manage to figure out what her mysterious feelings are, she managed to finally have an actual conversation with her father.

*Father...* Shade thought, as she smiled again. Shade couldn't remember the last time she called Praetorian Rufous that. Not since she was taken away from him for training at the tender age of five. You might think that's quite a young age to train soldiers, but the end results of being trained at that age are frightening...

They say that your personality is often shaped by the way your life goes during childhood... Most of it anyway. Training till you bled and breaking another trainee's arms for your evening meal pretty much defined her childhood as far as she could remember...

Not that it mattered now. And it's not like Shade hated her father for it. She knew well enough that he didn't have a choice in the matter. She only wished that she had spoken to him more often back then...

*At least things are different now...* Shade thought calmly as she made her way to the town square.

Shade could only imagine with dread what her life could have been if they had gone differently... If she hadn't disobeyed Lord Ix when they were on Angel Island and joined Sonic...

*Sonic...* Shade said to herself, as she thought about the one who had single-handedly changed her life.

She was Lord Ix's favored, chosen amongst hundreds to be this generation's Procurator. She was a militaristic, stoic and a merciless killing machine, trained to show little to no emotion as she rained death on the battlefield in Lord Ix's name. She was the perfect soldier. She never dreamed that there was a life beyond what she was trained for... but there was... and Sonic gave her to opportunity to experience it. Not only her, but everyone in the Nocturnus clan as well.

*I'll have to thank him more properly soon.* Shade thought, but as she did, that all too familiar feeling came to her again. She brought her hand to her chest and closed her eyes.

*These wonderful feelings... It is just another thing that he had given me that I have yet to pay him back for... I must... (sigh...), be patient...* Shade said to herself, recalling her father's advice. She has to be patient... Like a tactician, one must first take things one-step-at-a-time.

But that would all have to wait. Shade breathed deeply and took her hand off her chest. She still had to deal with the preparations. Her feelings will come in due time. And with that, she began barking orders to the soldiers in the square.

"Pick up the pace people! We have to be ready by this afternoon!"

* * *

Shade nodded to herself as she looked around the town square, somewhat evaluating the decorations that the citizens and soldiers put up. Cloth and plastic tapestries of purple, gold and red adorn most of the surrounding area, as well as some traditional Nocturnus decor. Things like; echidna statues, various bladed weaponry being hung on certain areas, light blue neon everywhere, and long battle spears are being used as poles to hold the tapestries. The town square looked like a cross between a festival and a weapons expo.

*Excellent.* Shade said to herself as she walked over to the food table on the far right. She picked up a small container and a cup, pouring herself a drink. A dark liquid poured from the container, emitting a small cloud of steam as it hit the cup that Shade held. As the cup filled, Shade carefully brought it up to her lips and blew, cooling it a bit as she took in several small sips from the somewhat hot beverage.

"Not bad... not quite bitter, but the strength is there." Shade said out loud, looking at her beverage closely, moving her hand about to make the brew spin.

Although seemingly relaxed, Shade still had her senses about. That said, Shade turned around to greet her incoming guest before he could even say a word. "Hello there, Tails."

"Huh? Oh, hello Shade." Tails replied in surprise, his hand half-way up to greet Shade. "Heh heh, I often forget how sharp your senses are."

"You flatter me." Shade said, a rather smug-ish smile on her face at the pseudo complement. "I'm glad you arrived early. The coronation will begin in two-to-three hours."

"Good to know. Thank you, Shade." Tails said, looking over his surroundings before turning his attention to New Nocturne's citadel. "Can I ask you something, Shade?"

"Go ahead." Shade replied, gesturing towards the young fox.

"Um... where will I be staying from now on?" Tails asked, still looking the citadel over.

"Ah, yes. You'll be taking residence in a special room we prepared for you on the third floor, just across Imperator Sonic's bed chambers as well as mine." Shade explained, pointing upwards, before bringing her hand down to point towards the ground. "You'll find the tech lab in the first basement floor. Feel free to bring your lab equipment there, if you wish."

"Okay. Thanks again, Shade. I think I'll bring my personal belongings to my room first." Tails said, bending down to pick up the handle of his trolley where three suitcases were straped on.

"Is that all you have?" Shade asked, perplexed that a child genius like Tails would only bring so little.

"These are only my most personal belongings. All of my lab equipment are still at Station Square. I'll pick them up later or tomorrow." Tails said, to which Shade shook her head.

"Nonesense. I'll have my unit pick up your lab equipment immediately." Shade said, putting her drink down as she readied her wrist communicator.

"That's not necessary, Shade. Everyone's pretty busy." Tails asked, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Hmm... Perhaps after the coronation then." Shade said, switching her communicator off.

As Shade opened her mouth to say something to Tails, a loud ear-shattering scream erupted off the distance behind Tails, making the young fox and echidna soldier cover their ears.

"SOOOOOOOOONIIIIIIIC!" Was what the scream sounded like, despite it's somewhat shrill after tones. Tails knew of only one person who could scream with such volume. And he knew of only one person who would be screaming the word 'Sonic' even in a heavily crowded area...

"Tails! There you are!" A pink blur shouted, stopping right beside the golden-yellow fox.

"What- Is it- Amy?" Tails said, pausing between words as he tried to shake off the ringing in his ears.

"I'm looking for Sonic! Have you- Oh! Shade!" Amy said, taking a step forward. "You're more reliable, right? Have you seen Sonic?"

"You will see him soon. He is simply being readied for the coronation." Shade said, sticking a finger in her ear to try and pop it back to proper hearing capacity.

"Oh... But, where is he right now?" Amy asked innocently. Shade readied her reply, but saw Tails behind Amy doing a 'cut' signal.

"Something tells me it is inadvisable to give out that information. I suggest you wait, Amy." Shade replied plainly, to which Amy pouted.

"Alright, fine... I'll wait..." Amy said, crossing her arms and still pouting as she turned away from Shade.

"Good. In the meantime, perhaps you could go and visit our market district? Several merchants from Station Square have set up shop there." Shade suggested to Amy, to which the bubbly pink hedgehog quickly beamed at.

"You are right, Shade! I need to look my best for my Sonic's coronation!" Amy said, and took hold of Tails' arm. "Let's go, Tails!"

"Wait a minute! Why do I have to go!" Tails replied in a shock.

"Because! I need someone to carry the bags!" Amy said, and quickly dash away with Tails in tow, screaming his little lungs out.

Shade watched the two as they left, wondering to herself if Tails will be alright. As Shade lightly shook her head to be rid of her worries, she looked down to see Tails' little trolley. Shade sighed, thinking perhaps she should take Tails' belongings herself...

Shade then briefly looked about at the citizens and soldiers working on the decorations.

*The preparations are nearly done. I don't need to supervise them anymore.* Shade thought, before looking back at the trolley. *I might as well.*

And with that, Shade picked up the handle and dragged the trolley towards the citadel. But as she did, the trolley hit a small crack on the ground, and a loose lock unhinged itself and something fell from one of the suitcases. The object in question made a loud crash as it hit the ground, like glass shattering. Shade quickly dropped the handle and looked to her side to see a small wooden object on the ground, with bits of glass littered around it.

"Hmm... best to place it back." Shade said, walking towards the object. "I shall apologize to Tails later."

As Shade leaned down to pick the object up, she noticed that it was a small picture frame. Looking carefully through the broken glass, Shade could barely see the photo in the frame. But there was enough open sections to see that the photo is of Sonic and his friends celebrating some sort of occasion.

*Probably a victory party, or something.* Shade thought, removing some of the broken glass to get a better look. She removed the glass specifically covering Sonic's side of the photo, and strangely, Sonic's expression had a semi-distressed look as he sported an awkward and crooked smile...

Quirking an eyebrow, Shade curiously removed more of the glass around Sonic's side and saw some arms wrapped around his chest. Feeling a strange feeling stir in her, Shade began removing more of the glass a little bit more quickly. She had uncovered that the arms belonged to the ever so familiar pink hedgehog...

"Amy..." Shade said only above a whisper. In the picture, Amy was hugging Sonic tightly, her cheeks pressed up against Sonic's as she smiled from ear-to-ear. Amy looked so... happy... and Sonic looked so... well, Shade couldn't really tell how Sonic was feeling at the time. But she knew that Amy's antics were making Sonic feel uncomfortable.

*Imperator Sonic clearly dislikes her being close to him... Yet somehow, he tolerates it...* Shade thought, feeling somewhat enraged

Shade can recall a time when she had heard Sonic and his friends speak of their relationship. Apparently, Amy has a expressed her love to Sonic... Despite Sonic turning her down, she refuses to give up...

Shade, of course, paid no attention to this before. But now that she knew what 'Love' was, she can't help but feel enraged that someone else is trying to win the affections of Sonic.

Shade could recall the conversation she had with the group yesterday. How she said that Amy's dream won't come true, and how Sonic must be paired with his equal... She just blurted that out so suddenly... She didn't know whether that was out of impulse, given her strictness in upholding Nocturnus traditions... Or that her feelings for Imperator Sonic has something to do with it... Never-the-less, she can't have Amy do as she pleases.

*I will not allow some immature girl flaunt around with Imperator Sonic.* Shade thought, tightening her grip on the picture frame. *Someone needs to tell that girl that her courting of Imperator Sonic is unwanted.*

As Shade continued to think angrily of Amy, she briefly heard someone call out to her. She turned to her left to see that Tails had escaped the clutches of that pink hedgehog and was running towards her.

"I see you have managed to leave her company." Shade said, as Tails stopped next to her, seemingly out of breath.

"(Huff), Yes... (Huff), She got distracted when we saw a huge pile of shoes being sold on sale..." Tails said, his hand on his chest as he breathed in-and-out heavily.

"Right. Before I forget, I wish to apologize to you, Tails." Shade said, turning to face the young fox.

"What for?" Tails asked, as he caught his breath at an even pace.

"As I pulled your trolley to your quarters, an item fell and broke." Shade said, handing the broken frame to Tails. "I know these items are very personal to you, and I'm sorry."

"Oh..." Tails said, taking the frame from Shade as he looked at it. "The glass just simply broke, no harm done."

"I see. ...Tails, may I ask you a question." Shade asked, looking a bit serious.

"Go ahead, Shade." Tails replied.

"How is it that you allow that... nuisance... to do as she pleases?" Shade said, an annoyed tone in her voice.

"Nuisance?" Tails said, thinking carefully before realizing who it was Shade was mentioning. "Oh! You mean, Amy? (Chuckle), I wouldn't worry about her. She may be a bit over-fanatic, but she means well."

"Despite the fact that Imperator Sonic clearly doesn't like her company?" Shade continued to ask.

"Sonic may seem to be annoyed of Amy, that's true. But that doesn't mean he doesn't care for her. Although not in the way Amy thinks." Tails replied, moving to put the broken frame back in his luggage.

"So, you are saying that only Amy holds this level of affection, but not Sonic?" Shade asked, her annoyed tone seemingly drifting away as she heard that the relationship is one-sided.

"For the most part. Sonic likes Amy as a friend, but Amy is trying to find a way to show him that they could be more than friends." Tails explained.

"So, in a way, she's trying to work on their relationship?" Shade asked, looking at Tails with a raised brow.

"Right. And maybe with a little more time, and if Amy actually took the time to be serious and not act like a complete fan-girl, maybe their relationship can deepen." Tails said, and could have sworn he felt the ground shake.

"Not if I have anything to say about it..." Shade muttered lowly, but still loud enough for Tails to pick up, if only barely.

"What was that, Shade?" Tails asked curiously.

"It's nothing..." Shade replied, trying her best to calm down. "It's best we get your belongings to your quarters before the ceremony begins."

"Alright." Tails replied with cheerful simplicity.

As Tails followed Shade to the citadel, he couldn't help but wonder how odd Shade reacts whenever they spoke of Sonic and Amy's relationship. He simply thought that perhaps that Shade is only being protective, given the new circumstances of Sonic's position.

*It's best not to over-think this. I should simply concentrate on the upcoming events.* Tails thought, and dismissed his worries as he and Shade neared to doors of the citadel.

* * *

The square looked so festive, the decorations were beautiful, and the feast table was amazing. It was late in the afternoon, near the evening, but the lighting across the square lit the place so well. It had to be lit well, after all, the people of New Nocturne wanted a very clear view of their new Imperator. And it wasn't long when said Imperator came forth from the citadel doors.

Everyone in New Nocturne watched as their new Imperator take center stage atop a grand platform that the citizens put together. They cheered with great enthusiasm, their joy overpowering their Imperator to the point of tearing up. He has never seen joy the way the Nocturnus had. Like a long sealed away bottle of champagne, it's contents preserved for one glorious moment...

*My people...* Sonic silently thought, still surprised at how the word seems to give him an odd sense of surreal pride. Looking over the cheering crowd, Sonic saw Amy and Tails cheering for him as well. *Thanks guys...*

The cheering soon died down as Procurator Shade took to Sonic's side, joined by the clan's new elder; Nestor the Wise.

"It has been so long since I have performed my elderly duties." Nestor the Wise proclaimed, his arm outstretched as he looked on towards the crowd. "And it feels good to perform them for such an honorable person."

Nestor the Wise turned to his side, his arm now gesturing towards Sonic. "Sonic the hedgehog, savior of the Nocturnus clan! It will be my honor to crown you Imperator on this glorious day!"

With those words said, Nestor the Wise took a humble bow to Sonic. And Sonic turned to Nestor the Wise and bowed to the elderly echidna.

"I'm honored too, Nestor the Wise." Sonic said, and the crowd once more erupted into cheers.

With the opening formalities done, Nestor began the crowning ritual.

Nestor spoke with the tongue of their ancestors, a language that Sonic knew nothing about... yet he understood every word the elder spoke. Sonic looked over himself and saw the runes of his suit glow as Nestor continued chanting. Sonic assumed that perhaps the suit was helping him understand Nestor's ancient words... But it wasn't like he understood the words themselves, but rather it was as if Nestor's words spoke to him in his thoughts...

The ritual continued for only a bit more, and soon, Nestor the Wise gave his closing statements and various words of wisdom to the new Imperator.

"The actions of the Imperator's of old should not effect how you lead us. As with every Imperator that bore the burden of rule, none of them ruled the same way as the others did. Imperator Sonic, rule the way you wish, but rule with a gentle heart, a firm hand, and an open mind."

"I will. And thank you, Nestor the Wise." Sonic said with a clam tone and a smile on his face.

With all things said and done, the crowd erupted once more before Sonic turned to face them and raised his arms up to address his people. He grinned his ever so cocky grin as he told his people the words that they have probably been waiting for since this morning began...

"Come on everyone! Let's eat!"

* * *

With the ceremony done, Sonic and his people helped themselves to the feast. They all deserved a good meal, having worked all morning for the ceremony itself. Sonic, the now official Imperator of the Nocturnus clan, is having a bit of trouble selecting his choice of food...

*No chili-dogs...* Sonic thought sadly, slumping over slightly as he stood in front of the meal table, his plate still empty. Shade did warn him yesterday that the feast wouldn't have anything he'd like...

The feast table was beautiful, and very well laid out, but... after seeing one meal that Sonic could only assume as a giant fried tentacle, he kinda lost his appetite...

As Sonic continued to try and find a meal that actually looks edible in his point-of-view, Shade came to his side with surprising swiftness.

"Is something amiss, my lord?" Shade asked, leaning against Sonic, making said hedgehog jump in surprise.

"Don't do that!" Sonic exclaimed, almost dropping his plate.

"I apologize." Shade replied, taking a step back.

"It's okay. (Sigh...), You were right, Shade... there really isn't anything here I could eat..." Sonic said, looking a bit grim.

"Indeed." Shade answered. "Oh, before I forget, Tails and Amy were looking for you."

"Really? Hmm... Knowing Amy, she probably has some big dinner prepared just for us..." Sonic said, thinking for a bit.

"Should we go and meet with them? I took them to the dining hall in the citadel in case you wish to dine with them, my lord." Shade said, doing a light bow.

"Hmm... Alright, but... Maybe I'll bring with me something from this feast." Sonic said, catching Shade by surprise.

"Truly? You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to, my lord." Shade said, shaking her head lightly.

"Hey, my people worked all morning for this. It's the least I can do." Sonic replied, making a small smile as he did so.

"That's quite kind of you, my lord." Shade said in a happy tone, smiling a bit as well.

Sonic gave Shade a nod, and taking in a huge gulp, he looked over the feast table one last time. But as he was about to choose, a very slender hand found its way holding his arm.

"Hey there, big blue."

* * *

To be Continued...


	10. Chapter 9: Meeting the Competition 2

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Ah, finally got this up. I was originally planning on posting it on Valentine's Day, but... Ah well, busy, blah blah blah, lame excuses from Sol... But I am sorry for the delay. Anywho, not much to say at the moment, besides Happy belated Valentine's Day! Now, enough of me. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 9: Meeting the Competition 2

* * *

"Hey there, big blue."

The words flowed slowly into Sonic's ears like honey, sending a light tingle up his back as he slowly turned to meet with whomever this sweet voice came from. To his surprise however, this sweet voice did not belong to someone who was completely sweet. In Sonic's opinion this person would've been described as a beautiful, yet very thorny, rose... but probably still be dipped in honey...

"Rouge! What are you-" Sonic began, shocked to see the thieving bat herself tonight as he almost dropped the plate he was holding. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, his words were cut off as Rouge placed a soft finger on his lips, shushing him as she chuckled at him rather intimately.

"Now, now, stud, calm down." Rouge said, softly and seductively as she slowly took her finger off of Sonic's lips. "Wouldn't want to draw too much attention to ourselves."

"Right... But, why are you here?" Sonic asked, quirking an eyebrow as he calmed down.

"Sonic, I hope you haven't forgotten about our dinner plans..." Rouge said, locking eyes with the blue ruler as she brought her finger to his chest and drew circles. Sonic for his part was very surprised by her statement.

"Wait a minute- You were serious about that?" Sonic asked, his eyes wide as he stared at Rouge disbelievingly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Rouge answered, shooting Sonic a very seductive grin as she batted her eyes at him.

"Well, I thought we were just, you know... having one of our flirty banters?" Sonic said, feeling very awkward for the first time around Rouge.

"Oh, Sonic. Every now and then you have to take a woman by her word." Rouge said, her face mere inches away from Sonic's. "So stud, what do you say?"

"Well... I'm not sure, Rouge... Maybe we can re-schedule? Tails and Amy are waiting for me and Shade to join them." Sonic said, trying to slowly pull his arm off of Rouge's. But Rouge only tightened her hold more.

"Oh, That's too bad. And here I thought I could've had you all to myself." Rouge said, her seductive tone still there.

"Don't you worry, I'll save you an open slot on my schedule next time." Sonic said, picking up from where he left off with his flirt-banter with Rouge by giving her a wide grin. "Here's an idea though; why don't you join us?"

"Hmm... Okay. But only if you promise that you keep your schedule open for you and me tomorrow." Rouge said, running a finger over Sonic's chin.

"No problem." Sonic replied, nodding in agreement. "Well with that settled, we should get going! But first; one more thing. Rouge?"

"Yes?" Rouge replied, batting her eyes again at Sonic.

"Could you maybe let go of my arm now?" Sonic said, nudging his head down to where Rouge was still holding on to him.

"(Giggle), Why? It would make a great opening statement as we go meet with the pink hedgehog and the fox kid." Rouge explained, moving her head closer to Sonic's again.

"And by 'Opening Statement', you mean me meeting head-first with her Piko-Piko-Hammer? No, that doesn't sound great at all..." Sonic said, trying not to imagine the event.

"You're no fun sometimes." Rouge said, looking away as she let go of his arm. "Well then, let's go."

"Right." Sonic replied as he looked over to Shade. "Let's go, Shade."

"Of course." Shade replied, nodding to him as she walked over to Sonic's side and the trio made their way to the citadel.

* * *

The three of them made their way towards the area of the citadel where Amy and Tails are waiting for them. Despite not knowing where the room was, Rouge insisted to be in front, asking Shade to simply point her to the right direction when necessary. And as they continued, Shade rubbed at her chin as she carefully observed Rouge. Now, normally this wouldn't be so odd. But the reason Shade was observing Rouge so much was because of the way the white bat was walking...

Rouge was walking at almost a snail's pace, making sure that she was a few steps in front of Sonic. One of her arms were over her hip, while the other swayed freely, pausing every now and then as she brought it up and lightly waved it about. She also often turned her head to the side, giving out short glances at Sonic and shooting grins at him as well. But the oddest thing Shade saw in the way Rouge walked was the way she was swaying her hips...

Rouge swayed her hips as if there were two people pulling at them from either side, giving her hips a saw like movement. There was an obvious exaggeration in the way she walked, aside from the saw-like movements, there was also a circular motion to the way they swayed as each cheek of her ass pushed out as it swayed to the side... It looked as if she was drawing a figure eight... with her ass.

*Why is she doing this?* Shade wondered, perplexed by the thief's odd movements. Thinking to herself, she wondered what was Sonic's opinion on her actions.

Thinking this, Shade turned to her side to see her lord's expression, hoping to see the same pondering look. To her surprise however, he wasn't at all thinking deeply... In fact, he had a huge grin on his face, as he was eying Rouge's ass rather carefully.

*Huh?* Shade oddly thought, perplexed and very surprised by the way Sonic was reacting to Rouge's movements. Focusing her observations to her lord, Shade carefully thought about what was going through Sonic's thoughts...

*He seems quite happy. Almost as if he's enjoying himself...* Shade thought, tilting her head a bit. *What exactly is so fascinating about her ass?*

Thinking a bit more deeply, Shade recalled the conversations from yesterday. She remembers asking about the relationship between lord Sonic and the white bat, with Sonic telling her that they were 'like-minded individuals' and that they often 'playfully' flirted with each other on occasion. From what Shade could understand from flirting, or at least the word 'flirt', is that it's a non-physical way of communicating amorously.

*Amorously...* Shade thought, bring her mind into focus on the word. *I often hear this word associated with couples... Hmm...*

Breaking her thoughts for a bit, Shade carefully observed Sonic once more.

*Lord Sonic does appear to enjoy it... Perhaps these are one of those things my father said... (Finger Snap), Of course! These must be one of those things that I can use to show how much I care and love lord Sonic!* Shade thought, tilting her head down to her waist.

*Maybe I can...* Shade thought nervously, taking in a small gulp as she looked over her own hips. Shade has to admit, she isn't exactly as well endowded compared to the white bat. She was trained since childhood as a soldier, hence she's packing more muscle than curves. ...But that didn't mean she didn't have any curves at all!

*Having SOME curves is better than having none at all...* Shade thought, before shaking her head in shock, realizing how very unlike her to care so much about her outward appearance.

Brushing the thought aside, she looked forward briefly so as to not hit anything as she thought about trying out what Rouge was doing.

*It wouldn't hurt...* Shade said to herself, carefully positioning herself as she added more sway to her hips. She began with the strong side-to-side motion, her motion seemingly looking stiff and adding a little too much 'Umph' to her movements. It made her twist her arms up in an awkward manner as her waist looked like a bendy straw against her flexible battlesuit.

*This feels rather uncomfortable...* Shade thought, still trying her best to sway her hips, although with each sway she was beginning to feel her knees cramp up a bit as she began walking rather wobbly and towards her right. Trying to move on to the figure eight motion, Shade didn't realize that she was closing the gap between her and Sonic's...

"WHOA!" Sonic exclaimed, feeling a strong bump crash into his left hip as he was nudged out of his trance watching Rouge's ass, and also dropping the plate in his hands. "What the-?"

"I-I-I'm s-sorry, m-my lord! I-I didn't mean to, um... bump into you like that..." Shade suddenly responded, reacting to the strong body contact as she backed away a few steps as she began to blush madly.

"It's okay, Shade. I'm fine." Sonic said, looking over Shade with a smile as he recovered his footing. "I should be thanking you actually."

"What do you mean, my lord?" Shade asked, still blushing madly as she began to make eye contact with Sonic.

"You helped me break away from a certain distraction..." Sonic said, looking over towards Rouge with a raised brow and naughty grin. Rouge simply chuckled to herself.

"Anytime... my lord." Shade answered, helplessly staring at Sonic, as her blushed deepened. Sonic turned towards her, noticing Shade's complexion appearing redder.

"Um... Shade? Are you okay?" Sonic asked, waving a hand over Shade's face.

"Huh?" Shade asked, taking notice and snapping out of her trance.

"You seem redder than usual. Is something wrong?" Sonic asked, sounding very concerned.

"What do you..." Shade began, lifting her hand up to her face and feeling it to still be quite warm... "Oh, ah, yeah... it's nothing. I'm just a tad bit, umm... tired, that's all."

"Don't overwork yourself." Sonic said, placing a hand on Shade's shoulder.

"Noted." Shade replied, nodding to her lord.

"Good." Sonic said, looking at his surroundings, before bringing his attention to the mess near his feet. "Well, there goes the food I picked out."

"I apologize, my lord." Shade said, tilting her head down and looking somewhat ashamed.

"Don't be, it was just an accident." Sonic replied, turning back towards Shade.

"An accident it may be, but that still doesn't truly remedy the situation. I shall bring you a new one with the same selection." Shade said, turning to her side to do what she intended to do. But she was stopped, as Sonic's hold on her shoulder held her back.

"There will be plenty of time for that later. Come on. Tails and Amy are waiting for us." Sonic told her, to which Shade paused briefly before nodding in agreement.

Returning the nod, Sonic turned and gestured Rouge to continue. Rouge replied by giving Sonic a seductive wink and smile before walking on. Sonic grinned and shook his head as he began walking after Rouge. Shade followed quickly and walked beside her lord once more. And as they walked onwards, Shade took a little moment to herself as she placed a hand over her shoulder to where Sonic touched her and smiled lightly.

* * *

It didn't take that long for the trio to arrive at the dining hall in the citadel. There was no door there, just a large arch as they entered a vast room where a dozen or two tables littered the area. Sitting on one of the tables were Tails and Amy. Amy was the first to see them, waving her hand excitedly at Sonic. Spotting the two, the trio walked up to meet them. But Rouge, after seeing Amy's eager greeting, took it upon herself to slip her arm around Sonic's own in one quick fluid motion.

To that effect, Amy got pissed, and almost stood up from her seat with a her hand ready to pull out her hammer before Tails pulled her down. Which took a lot of effort on his part since Amy was obviously stronger than him. Rouge chuckled lightly as she nudged herself closer to Sonic, which infuriated the pink hedgehog further. Sonic only sighed, hoping Rouge wouldn't be doing this the whole time.

Sitting down on the table in question, with Rouge still clinging on Sonic, Amy quickly nudged herself to sit on Sonic's opposite side and slipping her arm on Sonic's as well.

"What are YOU doing here, Rouge!" Amy growled, but trying her best to hold her tone down.

"I don't have to answer to you." Rouge said, waving her free hand haughtily while she scoffed at Amy.

"That doesn't excuse you from coming here uninvited!" Amy spat, glaring at Rouge intensely.

Rouge suddenly grinned maniacally as she faced Amy.

"If you must know, I had dinner plans with Sonic. At least before you ruined them of course." Rouge said, a smug look on her face.

"WHAT!" Amy shouted, her grip on Sonic's arm tightening like a vice, which made Sonic wince slightly. "What did I tell you about leaving MY Sonic alone!"

"Again, Amy, you don't own him. So I'll do as I please." Rouge replied, grinning maniacally again and infuriating Amy even more.

"THAT'S IT! I'M GONNA-" Amy began, her voice so loud and angry that it made the table shake. But before she could continue, a louder yell erupted from behind them.

"ENOUGH!" It was Shade, clenching her fists as she stomped angrily towards the table. "I will not tolerate the two of you bickering! I suggest the two of you stop, and remove yourselves from lord Sonic before I have to take the two of you off the premises!"

Both Rouge and Amy sulked a bit, removing their arms from Sonic as they edged away from him. But not before they shot one last angry glare at each other. Sonic gave out a relieving sigh, before turning towards Shade with a smile.

"Thanks, Shade." Sonic said to his Procurator.

"Anything for you, my lord." Shade answered to her Imperator, bowing lightly before sitting beside him herself. "I'll sit by your side, my lord, to ensure that those two don't bother you."

Hearing this, both Amy and Rouge glared at Sonic. Sonic took notice and nervously brought his arms up defensively.

"Hey, she IS my Procurator and all. Second-in-command." Sonic said, pointing to Shade with his thumb. Shade for her part crossed her arms and smiled proudly at the statement with her chin up. The two other girls simply shifted their glare at Shade. And although their hands were underneath the table, you could hear their fists clenching audibly.

"Hey now everyone, calm down. This is supposed to be a relaxing dinner between friends." Tails said, trying to break the tension.

"Tails' is right. So, Amy, what food did you bring?" Sonic said, turning his attention to Amy. Amy pulled her glare away from Shade and calmly smiled at Sonic before looking away and picking up a large picnic basket from the floor.

"I have all your favorites, Sonic! As well as mine and Tails'! I originally planned on bringing enough just for the three of us, but Tails insisted I bring a little more extra as a precaution." Amy said, putting the picnic basket on the table. Opening the basket, Amy immediately pulled out a small lunch box with three chili dogs and moved over next to Sonic.

"Here you are, Sonic! Three good-old-fashioned chili dogs!" Amy cheerily exclaimed, picking one up. "Made especially for you, by me!"

"You made these Amy?" Sonic asked, pointing at the chili dogs in the lunch box with a raised brow.

"Yeah! It's my first time making a chili dog!" Amy said, both cheerily and proudly. "Tell me what you think!"

With that, Amy closed the gap between Sonic's mouth and the chili dog in her hand. Sonic backed up a bit, surprised by the fact that he was being fed, but shrugged to himself as he took a bite. Taking his time chewing and savoring the taste, Sonic couldn't help but nod to himself.

"That's actually delicious, Amy." Sonic admitted, his words slightly mumbled as he continued to chew. Amy quickly beamed, gasping with joy at the praise.

"Oh, Sonic, thank you!" Amy said, bringing her free hand up close to her face as she blushed and giggled.

Tails shook his head, smiling to himself as he watched the two interact. He then pulled the picnic basket close to him. "Right then, I'll just bring out the rest of the food."

Completely unpacking the basket, Tails spread the food over the table as he put the basket back down on the ground. Among the food that Amy had brought were a small salad, a few egg rolls, a translucent lunchbox that held pasta, a thermos, and four sandwiches that had... cucumbers?

Sonic's brow raised, surprised to see such a thing. He knew of no one among his friends who liked cucumber sandwiches. But to his further surprise however, Tails picked one up and began to eat.

"I didn't know you liked cucumber sandwiches, little buddy." Sonic said, half muffled as he swallowed his food and turning to face the young fox.

"They're not that bad. (Gulp), But I can't say they taste great either. But a new friend I met recently love these." Tails said, bending down after swallowing his sandwich as he had forgotten to bring out the plastic cups.

"A new friend huh? Someone I know?" Sonic asked, letting his elbow rest on the table.

"No, not really. I'll introduce you someday! ...Provided he isn't busy." Tails said, putting the stacked up plastic cups on the table as he took one for himself.

"Alright, maybe I-" Sonic began, but was interrupted when he felt something bumping at his cheek.

"Now, Sonic, there will be plenty of time for small talk." Amy said, bumping the bitten chili dog repeatedly on Sonic's cheek. "Meal time is meal time."

"Alright, alright." Sonic replied, turning back towards Amy as he took another bite.

* * *

After a while, the small group of friends began eating, taking the time to pause every now and then as they talked about little things in that are happening in their lives recently. Tails met a college professor recently, saying that he was the friend he mentioned earlier. Amy is studying how to cook, saying that both her mom and dad are amazing chefs. Rouge was still up to her normal routine, trying to get her hands on the Master Emerald. Although, Rouge says that Knuckles has been a little more hostile recently. Stating that he didn't even fall for her usual flirting charm and simply fought her without saying a word to her.

"He's probably just stressed." Amy said, before picking up the last chili dog and waved it around lightly at Sonic's mouth.

Sonic rolled his eyes, opened wide, and took a bite.

As the group of friends continued to talk, Shade, who has been rather silent for a while, was looking carefully at both Sonic and Amy... Sonic for the most part, but she did look at Amy... often, with a scowl. She was trying to learn from their interactions and gauging their relationship.

*Although I know that my lord dislikes the idea of her cuddling him, that doesn't mean my lord truly dislikes her for it.* Shade thought, still observing the two as Sonic stopped Amy briefly as he took a quick sip from a filled plastic cup in front of him.

*I also know for a fact that my lord only thinks of her as a friend. But as Tails said, Amy is going out of her way to eventually charm my lord into thinking otherwise.* Shade continued to think to herself, before turning her attention to Rouge, who was nibbling on an egg roll.

*Rouge on the other hand seems to have a different relationship to my lord, though the cuddling she gives him is far more accepted compared to Amy. Though still slightly unwanted.* Shade thought, turning back towards her Imperator.

*My lord has known them for some time. Yet he still seems uncertain of which of the two's affections he accepts fully. Perhaps it has something to do with him being an adventurer, making interactions with them rare at best...* Shade took a moment to to look away and up towards the ceiling as she brought her hand up to her chin.

*But with him tied down to being Imperator... They'll have plenty of time to interact with lord Sonic as much as necessary...* Shade furrowed her brow a bit at her thoughts, shifting her gaze back to her lord.

*In that allotted time, the two would most definitely try their best to build up their relationship with lord Sonic...* Shade brought her hand up and clenched her fist.

*As my lord's right-hand, I must take advantage of my time with him to court him properly.* Shade nodded, a determined look on her face as she gazed quickly towards Rouge, and then to Amy before looking back at her lord. *They already have a foothold on my lord's affections. I must ensure that my efforts exceed the two combined!*

As Shade thought this, she brought her hand to her chest as she felt the steady beat of her heart.

*I will have your love, my lord. As you unknowingly have mine...*

* * *

To be Continued...


	11. Chapter 10: What is Yours

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: And here comes chapter 10. Okay, let's start things off with a very special thank you to all you faithful readers! I don't want to call out names, lest I hurt someone's feelings unintentionally. But I'm pretty sure you guys already know who you are. (Sol looks over a list of names). Anywho, let's not delay any longer. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 10: What is Yours

* * *

Somewhere, within a massive metallic room covered with inlays and runic symbols, was a large extravagant bed covered in gold and purple sheets made of fine smooth silk. And on this bed lay a certain blue hedgehog, sleeping soundly with his mouth agape as he looks incredibly tired from the events of last night. After dinner, Sonic took the spare time he had to converse more with his friends. But as time went on, Amy and Rouge once again started their bickering. Their chosen subject: Him.

He wasn't all too surprised about Amy. He knows well enough how protective she is of her self-given title of 'Sonic's Girlfriend'. What really surprised Sonic was Rouge's participation. He knows all too well how Rouge loves to flirt and tease. But if Sonic didn't know any better, Rouge might actually be taking her flirting with him on a much more serious level...

After putting up with all the bickering, Sonic was just begging to go to sleep. But the two girls were being very stubborn about it. Luckily for him, he was able to persuade the two girls to leave for the night. Although, Rouge did try to argue her way into sleeping over. Fortunately she was distracted by Amy's protests long enough for Sonic to slip into bed. And Shade provided a very powerful defensive position in front of Sonic's door until the girls left.

All in all, Sonic had a very relaxing night's sleep.

As Sonic continued to drift away in dreamland, the giant doors of his room creaked open.

"My lord? Are you awake?" A voice from the door said, the person's head popping out from the opening. It was Shade, Sonic's Procurator. "It's already nine o' clock. You're breakfast was prepared an hour ago, my lord."

Unfortunately, Shade's only reply was silence. Save for Sonic's breathing. Sighing to herself, Shade walked up to the left side of the bed as she looked at her lord's sleeping form. Thinking to herself, Shade wondered how she should go about waking her lord. She knew of many ways to accomplish this, though many of which are considered rude.

Shaking her head as she grinned deviously, she raised her right hand and placed a gentle finger on the temple of Sonic's head. Shade readied a small electrical charge on the tip of her finger, her Leech Blade flickered briefly as a small jolt surged right into Sonic's head.

"Da-WHOA!" Sonic shouted, as he sat up in one sudden motion as Shade pulled her hand away quickly.

"Good. You're awake." Shade said calmly, bowing to Sonic. "I apologize for rudely awakening you, but breakfast was ready an hour ago."

"Oh..." Sonic mumbled, his eyes half-open as he still looked fairly sleepy. "I'm, (yawn), sorry, Shade."

"No need, my lord." Shade replied, placing her hands behind her back as she made her way towards a table at the left corner of the room.

"Should I help you into your battle-suit, my lord?" Shade said, motioning to Sonic's Imperator attire that was placed on the table.

"Sure." Sonic said, hopping off his bed as he stretched out. "So, Shade, how have you been?"

"Why do you ask, my lord?" Shade replied, genuinely confused by the question.

"Well, you told me that you've been tired lately." Sonic said, as he stood beside Shade.

"Oh... that... Do not worry about it, my lord. I'm quite fine." Shade replied, remembering the excuses she made whenever she was caught blushing.

Setting those thoughts aside, Shade then picked up the giant metal collar of the suit and unclasped the lock as she approached Sonic.

"But I appreciate the concern, my lord." She said, providing a comforting reply.

"Hey, I'm always concerned whenever my friends are in any trouble or stressed." Sonic said, smiling a bit as he tilted his head up to let Shade put the collar on. "My ego can often get the best of me sometimes. But I'm always genuinely caring."

"That is..." Shade began, pausing slightly as she reached behind Sonic's neck and locked the collar in place. "...a comforting thought, my lord."

"Thanks, Shade." Sonic said, bringing his hands up to adjust the collar a bit.

"You are welcome, my lord." Shade said, smiling a bit to herself as she picked up the gauntlets.

"Hey now, are you smiling?" Sonic asked, taking one of the gauntlets as he too began to smile a little.

"A little, yes." Shade replied, still smiling as she watched Sonic put the gauntlet on and chuckling a bit.

"It's good to see a genuine smile on your face, Shade." Sonic said, adjusting the clasp on the gauntlet and moved his fingers to test the leather and steel around his hand.

"I have changed quite a bit ever since I met you..." Shade replied, looking away and not realizing that her words implied something more than she intended. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for her, Sonic didn't pay too much heed to the implications of Shade's words. Save for taking it as it is.

"I know. I mean, when we first met, you were always so serious and cold." Sonic said, taking the other gauntlet from Shade and doing the same on his other hand.

"I still am." Shade said, picking up the boots and handing them over to Sonic. "I just find myself a little more... different, when I'm around you. Lord Sonic."

"Really? Just me?" Sonic asked, lifting an eyebrow at Shade before he took the boots and walked back to his bed and sat on the edge.

"Yes. You are... Important to me... My lord..." Shade said, finding it difficult to say the words.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me, Shade." Sonic said, smiling a bit broader as he put on one of the boots.

"You are..." Shade began, but paused as she thought about her words carefully. Is this it? Could this be the moment she was waiting for? Should she tell him right here and now about her love for him?

*Should I...?* Shade thought, hesitating a bit as she listed down her choices and possible reactions that Sonic may have. But truth be told, she wasn't sure how Sonic would react if she should tell him... Her knowledge on this subject was still sketchy, at best...

But as she continued to think of what to do at this point, she didn't realize that Sonic has already finished putting his battle-suit on.

"Right then. Shade, could you hand me my robes?" Sonic said, standing up as he jogged in place to even out the metal boots.

"Huh? Oh! Ah, of course." Shade replied quickly, her mind still drifting around a bit. She turned around as she picked up Sonic's runic purple robes from the table. Shade then made her way to her lord.

"What's the matter, Shade? Thinking about something?" Sonic said, taking the robes from Shade and clasping the necessary ends underneath the giant collar.

"You could say that, yes..." Shade answered, her eyebrows drooping a bit in embarrassment.

"I'm sure it's a personal matter. So I won't ask." Sonic said, as the runes on his robes began to glow lightly. "Well then, how about that breakfast!"

Shade simply replied with a nod, as she gestured to the door.

With Sonic dressed and ready, Shade led her lord to the dining hall. All the while, thinking perhaps she had missed her chance to tell him of her secret affections for him.

*There will be other chances, perhaps. Till then, I shall prepare accordingly.*

* * *

As Sonic was eating his breakfast, many of his people, mostly soldiers since it was the citadel, stayed within the dining hall to try and converse with him. Many of them simply wished to congratulate his new position, others praised him for his skills and amazing speed, while some simply thanked him. Thanked him for what he did for them. And although he appreciated everything his people said, the thanks that he got were the ones that he liked the most.

After breakfast, Shade took Sonic to the throne room. Along the trip, and entering the room itself, the two were accompanied by four Decurion soldiers. Sonic asked Shade as to why the need for security, but Shade simply said that they were not for simple security reasons. But that they were here to provide a sense of... authority.

"And why is that?" Sonic asked, as he took his seat on his throne.

"Because we'll be meeting with someone today, my lord. Someone with horrible manners and respect." Shade answered, moving to stand at her Imperator's right hand.

Turning her wrist communicator on, Shade asked that the 'guest' be taken to the throne room now. Sonic then raised a brow and asked who this 'guest' was. Shade simply replied with a sly smile, and a short; "You'll see."

As a few minutes passed, the doors to the throne room swung open, as the 'guest' came in, holding a briefcase, and being escorted by two Equites.

"Imperator Sonic, I-" The guest began, but was cut off by Sonic.

"Shadow! Dude! What are you doing here!" Sonic exclaimed rather loudly, leaning forward on his throne as he grinned.

"Well, lord Sonic, I came here-" Shadow began again, but was cut off once more by Sonic.

"Lord Sonic? You don't have to call me that, you know." Sonic said, leaning back against his. "Although I must admit, It's awfully satisfying to hear it from you."

"Yes, well... I don't really have much of a choice... I'm required by law to do so." Shadow said, clenching a fist as he tilted his vision at a corner on the floor.

"And it's good to know that your paying your respects properly." Shade said, crossing her arms smugly. Shadow looked up at her with a glare.

"Yes... But I didn't come here to talk about that." Shadow said, as he thrust the briefcase forward. "GUN has finished the research you requested, Procurator Shade."

"Good. And what did you find?" Shade asked, nodding as she uncrossed her arms.

"Research? What research, Shade?" Sonic asked, leaning to the side near Shade.

"Your Procurator asked GUN to do research on whether or not the Nocturnus clan still held property, despite being gone for centuries." Shadow explained.

"Really? And, um... what did you find out?" Sonic asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Surprisingly, there are records that show that the Nocturnus clan STILL owns property." Shadow said, opening the briefcase and pulling out a piece of paper and looking over it.

"And they are all in that briefcase?" Shade asked.

"Yes. Aside from being given the entire Green Hill Zone by the President-" Shadow said, before being cut off once more, but by Shade.

"That reminds me. Thank you again for talking to your President before and giving us the Green Hill Zone, lord Sonic." Shade said, bowing lightly to Sonic.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. The guy owes me a few favors after all." Sonic replied with a grin, before turning his attention back to Shadow, who was looking really pissed off.

"(Clearing his throat roughly), Right, as I was saying... the Nocturnus clan still has ownership over the Mystic Ruins and everything within that area." Shadow said, putting the paper down and turning serious. "Including Angel Island..."

Sonic looked stunned for a minute, leaning forward on his throne again.

"Did you just say; Angel Island?" Sonic said, with calm surprise.

"Indeed. Before the Argus Event, the Knuckles clan lost the last war against your clan and relinquished everything they owned to the Nocturnus clan. Proof of this is written on some ancient scrolls that were found preserved until it came under the ownership of several museums. Which GUN requested for." Shadow continued, pausing a bit as he looked at Sonic.

Sonic leaned back on his throne again, bringing his hand to his chin as he thought deeply. Shadow knew exactly what he was thinking about.

"Yes, lord Sonic. That also includes all of the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald itself." Shadow said calmly, catching Sonic's attention as the black hedgehog seems to hit the nail right on the about Sonic's thoughts.

"Here. By law, I'm no longer allowed to carry this around." Shadow said, putting the piece of paper back into the briefcase as he pulled out the green Chaos Emerald and tossed it to Sonic.

Sonic caught the Emerald with ease, looking at it before turning back to Shadow with a grin.

"Thanks, Shadow." Sonic said, and Shadow merely waved his hand dismissively.

"(Hmph), Don't worry about it." Shadow said, as he thrust the briefcase forward again. "Here. All the necessary documents are in the briefcase."

"Yes. Thank you again, Shadow." Shade said, making her tone sound like it wasn't even a real thank you. She then ordered the two Equites from earlier to take the briefcase. "Now, report back to GUN. And tell them that we'll send the payment in later."

"Right." Shadow said, turning around as he readied himself to leave. But before he did, he turned around to look at Sonic once more.

"Sonic... I mean, lord Sonic. Now that you know that you own the Mystic Ruins and everything there. What will you do?" Shadow asked, turning serious once more.

Sonic listened and pause, thinking carefully of what Shadow was asking him. Sonic wasn't truly sure what Shadow was trying to say. But Sonic knew that Shadow was asking something different underneath his initial question.

*I wonder what angle he's getting at...* Sonic thought, squinting his eyes at Shadow. Sonic readied himself to answer, although not really sure what he was going to say. But before he could, Shade cut in ahead of him.

"We'll take an excavation team to venture in and retrieve anything that is of value within the ruins." Shade explained, her tone sounding a little annoyed as she seemingly scowled at Shadow.

"As for Angel Island, well, seeing that it's a pile of rubble after falling over Metropolis, we might consider its restoration." Shade continued, pausing when she felt Sonic's hand hold her forearm.

"Hold on, Shade." Sonic said, looking up at her. "I've been meaning to ask about something important."

"What might that be, my lord?" Shade asked, turning to her lord calmly as she eased her tone properly for him.

"Where has Knuckles and the Master Emerald been staying for the past few days?" Sonic asked, sounding rather concerned. Truth be told, since their return from the Twilight Cage a few days ago, Sonic has wondered where Knuckles had been staying.

"I recall Tails mentioning that he has been staying in Central City. Living with his old companions' home. Team Chaotix I believe." Shade said, and Sonic nodded in reply.

"That's another thing. What will you do about the Master Emerald?" Shadow asked, now completely turned and looking at the two again.

"We'll take it from him, of course. By law, his clan should no longer have right to guard it." Shade said sternly, looking very serious at Shadow as if angered by his questioning.

"Are you sure about that, Shade?" Sonic said, getting the attention of his Procurator again as she softened her expression. "I wouldn't want to take the only thing that gives Knuckles purpose in his life..."

"Nonsense. Knuckles needs to move on and find a new purpose. Living in complete isolation is bad for anyone, even if it's for the right reasons." Shade said, which caught Sonic by surprise before making a small smile and nodding in agreement.

"You're right, Shade." Sonic said brightly, making Shade smile as well. "Still. It'll be hard to tell him though."

"Do not worry, my lord. You are his friend, I'm sure he'll understand." Shade said, reassuring Sonic about the matter.

"Well then, I'm guessing my welcome here has already dragged on for too long." Shadow said, turning away again as he left for the door.

As he did, one of the Equites from earlier followed him out, while the other went to Shade and handed her the briefcase. She gave him a stern "Thank you.", as the Equite bowed and left to catch up with the other.

"I'll go and file these documents in our database." Shade said, as she turned to Sonic. "Would you like to come with me, my lord? Or stay here till I return?"

"I'll go with you, Shade. Being Imperator and all, I gotta know my own citadel properly." Sonic said, as he stood up and stretched a little.

As the two left to file in the new documents they received, Sonic looked about the many things that they passed by to the database room. From the throne room, by the dining area, and several corridors and hallways where there are many rooms where his people live in. He guesses not everyone wants to live out at the small houses outside, and chose to live within the citadel.

But as Sonic continued to look at his surroundings, he began to wonder to himself about everything in New Nocturne. And that he was the Imperator... Lord and master of his domain and the people who lived here.

"Shade, can I ask you something?" Sonic asked, his eyes not really focused on her as she was walking ahead of him.

"What is it, my lord?" Shade replied, turning her head a little as she looked at her lord in the corner of her eye.

"I wanted to ask... Is everything here, the citadel, the small town, the Mystic Ruins, and the Emeralds..." Sonic began, then looked at Shade. "...Are they really all mine?"

Shade was a little perplexed at first, but she quickly softened her features as she smiled gently. "Of course, my lord. You are the Imperator of New Nocturne. Why do you ask?"

"Well... All my life, I've never really owned anything. I didn't even had a home... At least, a home for myself... It's always been just..." Sonic said, wanting to continue but for some reason he began to feel sad. And just then, a small tear came to his right eye.

*What's... wrong with me?* Sonic thought, wiping the tear with a finger as he sniffled a little, and stopping in the middle of the empty hallway.

Surprised to hear her lord speak so emotionally, Shade turned to look at Sonic, seeing him stand there with his head down as he wiped away a few more tears.

"My lord..." Shade said, almost a murmur as she placed the briefcase to the ground and approached Sonic. "I don't wish to see you saddened..."

"I'm not... At least, not in that way. I guess... I guess despite everything that I am, despite how many people there are in my life... I've never experienced what it felt to have a..." Sonic said, still saddened. But as he wanted to finish, Shade stood in front of him and held his shoulder comfortingly.

"Home..." Shade said, finishing Sonic's words. To which the blue hedgehog nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah... That's it... Heh heh heh, I'm guessing all those years of being homeless has caught up with me..." Sonic said, running a finger over his nose as he sniffed one last time and wiped his tears.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore. You have us, your people. Your family..." Shade said, surprised a little as to where those words came from. But that didn't matter right now.

"Family..." Sonic said, tilting his head down again. "I've never really had one of those..."

As Shade heard him say that, she couldn't help feel saddened as well. In a way, she had a similar life... being all alone, with no one to care for you but yourself... But she had her Noctunus training. She wasn't really alone, just... left alone... But thinking about Sonic, and knowing that he's always been a wanderer... It almost seemed like she was much more well off compared to him...

"You know, my lord... In a way, our lives weren't all that different..." Shade said, looking down towards the side as her eyelids drooped sadly.

"I'm guessing you know how it felt to be alone for most of your life... Having to survive all on your own, with no one to really care for you..." Sonic said, also looking towards the same spot where Shade was looking.

"Yes..." Shade replied, somehow feeling like tearing up herself. But she held it back as best she could, reminding herself not to allow certain emotions to take over her.

"Then let's make a little promise here, Shade." Sonic said, bringing his hand up to hold Shade's shoulder as well. "Let's promise to make sure that no one among our people will have to live like that ever again."

Shade listened to his words, and felt a veritable surge of admiration as she turned to look at her lord. And although she still felt her tears well up, they were no longer of sadness... but of joy. She didn't really know what happened next, but Shade felt like her body, her mind, and her heart needed to express something to Sonic to show how much she appreciated everything that he had done for her and her people.

She pushed herself against the hold of her lord's grip, driven with emotion as she embraced him strongly. And for the first time in her life, with her emotions shown out in the open, as she allowed herself to experience them fully. She felt like she wasn't just who she was. Not a soldier... but someone... someone real...

She wasn't sure what exactly her lord was feeling about the situation, but she was sure that he was in shock. And she wondered when he was going to ask that awkward question of what she was doing. At least, that's what she thought he would do. Instead, she felt his arms reach around her, as he returned the embrace. She wasn't sure why he did so, nor did she care either. Shade simply smiled, and listened more to his words.

"Thanks, Shade..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	12. Chapter 11: Lighting a Short Fuse

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: And here is Chapter 11. Wow, that took a while didn't it? Sorry again folks, but I wanted to take my time with this one. You can pretty much tell from the previous chapter and the title of this one that something bad's gonna happen between some certain individuals. But will it actually happen? Or not? Dunno, so go ahead and read to find out! Right then, enough of me. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 11: Lighting a Short Fuse

* * *

Somewhere, in a place where opportunity came in abundance to those who can afford it, a figure stood as he focused with steeled determination. His left eye twitched, his nostrils flared, and his fingers itched in anticipation as he slowly gauged his prey. He slowly breathed in, furrowing his brows as he readied himself... This was it... If there was ever a time to DO IT, this was IT.

With a near feral and mad grin, he lunged forward, his hands positioned carefully, the muscles tensing as the strength behind them could very well rip the jaws off of a crocodile. ...Which was ironic, since he was one...

"Rraaaagh!" Vector roared, as his hands clasped and tightened around his prey. But even though his triumph was at hand, he was not alone... there was another who dared try to take his prey...

"Get your hands off the darn can! You brute!" The shrill voice of a withered old goat woman said, as she took hold of the other end of the can.

"Listen, lady. This is the last can of Spagonian Sausages! And I saw it first!" Vector said angrily, but not above a yell.

Being a Saturday, Vector had to do the grocery shopping. He would've argued with Espio not to go. But they had a deal that the trio of friends would take turns each week. And it was Vector's turn this time around. Which Vector did not like at the very least... But fair is fair...

Vector prayed and hoped that things would go smoothly this time and be home by lunch. Unfortunately for him, he encountered his most vile nemesis... Mrs. Hackdirt...

The old lady was as stubborn as a... well, a goat. She and Vector have always been locking horns whenever they met at the Central City grocery store. At least whenever it came down to the last can of Spagonian Sausages. Which for some odd reason happened quite often.

The two struggled against each other for a while, neither giving up the prize that they believed was solely for them. And although Vector knew he could easily knock the old lady back, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if it came to that. He was a gentleman after all. ...Although he was not above being immature and stubborn...

"Listen, lady. (Grunt), You're probably somewhere above the age of sixty. (Grunt), That being said, you're probably not allowed to eat this sort of stuff anyway!" Vector said, still tugging on the can with as little strength he could control himself with, as he tried to coerce the old goat to give him the can.

"No way, sonny! I may be old, but that will not stop me from having my favorite sausages!" Mrs. Hackdirt yelled, though not quite loudly, as her voice was not up to the task.

Vector looked over his shoulder and towards the store clock. It was already twelve fifteen.

"Darn it!" Vector cursed with gitted teeth. He was already late for lunch. He needed to get home quick before Charmy starts to make a tantrum.

"Alright, fine, take it!" Vector said, as he let go of the can and dash off towards the pay counter. Unaware that in doing so, made Mrs. Hackdirt fall over on her back.

Hearing the loud thud that the old goat made when she fell, Vector stopped and turned to look at her. To his surprise, however, she was sitting on the floor and waving the can up in the air as she laughed triumphantly. With a frustrated grunt, Vector turned around and continued back towards the pay counter. All the while scowling as he angrily thought of him losing to Mrs. Hackdirt.

"Next time, Mrs. Hackdirt... Next time..."

* * *

After the little incident at the Central City grocery store, Vector had paid and left with what groceries he had. And although he had all of the necessary stuff he needed for him and his boys for the next week, he was both sad and angry at the fact that he didn't get his favorite snack of Spagonian Sausages.

"Darn that old goat..." Vector muttered, as he chewed his bubble-gum a little too roughly than usual.

As much as he wanted to bitterly gripe about his loss, he couldn't waste any more time. Stopping a few seconds to ask a young couple that passed by what time it was, he found that it was already twelve thirty two. Which meant that Charmy was probably whining his head off, and Espio was probably trying his best to calm the annoying little bee as best he could.

*Better hurry up.* Vector thought, blowing a little bubble and making it pop briefly.

As Vector continued to walk down the street towards the apartment building where Team Chaotix HQ was, his attention was caught by a small group of five people who were walking towards him. One of them waving his hand in the air and yelling out his name.

"Vector!" The individual said, trying his best to stand out from the group, who was surrounding him like a wall.

Vector squinted his eyes a little to try and focus on who it was. He couldn't recognize him, since he was mostly hidden from view by the ones in front. But for some reason, the man's voice was quite familiar...

Curiosity getting the best of him, Vector stopped and waited for the group to walk up to him. He wasn't sure whether that was a smart idea or not. But if they really were bad people, they wouldn't be walking in broad daylight. Right? Either way, the group was headed towards him anyway. Vector took the opportunity to get a better look at them, squinting his eyes to try and focus.

From what Vector can see of the group, they were wearing some kind of black skin-tight suits with armor plating. Along their armor were inlays of neon light, each of a different color. Though most of them were light-blue. Vector knew of something that had a similar description, but couldn't quite put his finger on it... It was only when the group was in front of him that Vector recognized who they really were.

"Hey, aren't you guys the Marauders?" Vector said, pointing at them with his free hand, and feeling a little proud of himself for being able to figure it out. The group in front of Vector looked at each other, exchanging some confused looks for a bit before realizing what he meant.

"Marauders? (Chuckle), Are we still being called that?" One of the soldiers in front said, a female from what Vector could tell.

"I'm guessing some people are still a tad bit misinformed." Another one of the soldiers said, this one a male.

"No, no, this man is obviously the type that doesn't read the news." Another one of the soldiers said, also a male.

"You got that right!" Another said, this time coming from the man whose voice Vector could recognize from earlier. "Move aside guys, I gotta talk to the big guy."

On the man's command, the group opened up to let him walk forward and meet face-to-face with the crocodile. Vector looked at the man, who was quite shorter than he expected, and studied his features. It didn't take long for Vector to recognize who he was.

"Sonic?" Vector said, his eyebrow quirked questioningly as he leaned forward a bit. He knew it was Sonic the moment he saw his sharp blue quills, his emerald green eyes, and the broad smirk he always carried. It was then that Vector also recognized Sonic's new look.

"What's with the get-up? And why are you with the Marauders?" Vector asked, taking into account Sonic's gold battle-suit and purple robes. Sonic's entourage chuckled at the crocodile's confusion. Obviously confirming their suspicions of him not reading the news.

"(Chuckle), What's wrong? Purple and gold don't do it for me?" Sonic asked jokingly, trying to keep the big guy in the dark for just a little bit longer.

"Uh... Right..." Vector answered, looking thoroughly confused. "Um... What's going on here, Sonic?"

"That's LORD Sonic to you." Someone from behind Sonic said, saying the word lord a little louder than that person intended, as that person walked out from behind Sonic and moved to his side.

"Don't worry, Shade. You know how I feel about formality between friends." Sonic said, turning to look at his Procurator with a smile.

"Lord Sonic, please. I can understand the lack of formality between friends. But when we are in public, such things must be upheld properly." Shade said, putting her hands behind her back as she nonchalantly shook her head.

Vector simply looked at the two, even more confused than he was earlier. Vector couldn't understand what was happening... Sonic? Imperator? With the Marauders? Did he just enter some strange twilight-zone-like place? Or perhaps his lack of knowledge of recent events are finally biting him back in the ass...

*I should definitely start reading the paper...* Vector thought to himself, rubbing the back of his neck as he watched Sonic and Shade exchange words. And although the two were arguing, the way the conversation was going was a little too... playful... It almost seemed cute...

"Uh, listen, guys..." Vector said, catching Sonic and Shade's attention. "As cute as it is to watch you two talk, I'd like to know why you guys are here?"

After hearing of Vector's comment on them talking seemingly 'cute' to watch, both Sonic and Shade blushed lightly. Shade looked away and coughed a little, covering her mouth. While Sonic chuckled nervously and scratched his cheek.

"Right... Well, Vector, we kinda need to go see Knuckles about... something..." Sonic began, first with a nervous smile, before he looked down at the ground looking a little sorry.

"Is that all? Why didn't you say so! Right then! Let's all head to Team Chaotix HQ." Vector said, as he joyfully patted Sonic on his left shoulder, his strength nearly toppling Sonic over. This made all of the Nocturnus soldiers, including Shade, go into combat positions as they swiftly moved and readied themselves. Two moving to Sonic's sides and three surrounding Vector, with Shade in front of Sonic.

"Whoa, chill people." Sonic said quickly, gesturing his bodyguards to stand down. Shade and her squad stood down immediately, going back to their old positions, as they carefully eyed Vector.

Vector for his part was very shocked about the sudden action and looking both nervous and scared as he clutched tightly on his grocery bag.

"Okay... remind me never to make any sudden movements." Vector said, still clutching the bag.

"Sorry about that, Vector. I'll tell you about all them and my new, um... life, as we head over to your place." Sonic said, gesturing to Vector to lead the way.

With a small and nervous nod, Vector humbly lead the way, with Sonic and Shade following by his side and the rest of Sonic's bodyguards behind them. The big crocodile occassionally glanced behind him, seeing the guards eying him dangerously. Vector didn't know what was going on, but he knew that he was going to be extra careful not to do anything to Sonic that seemed harmful to them...

* * *

As the small group made their way to Team Chaotix HQ, with Vector leading the way, Sonic explained everything that has happend to him recently. From his short encounter with Shade back at the Blue Ridge Zone, to being greeted by his people in New Nocturne, the meeting with his friends, and of course the big crowning ceremony just yesterday. Overall, Sonic's explaination of the events were pretty clear to Vector. Save for one thing...

"Why didn't you include ME and the rest of Team Chaotix on the day of your meeting?" Vector ranted, sounding a little angry.

"Sorry, Vector, I wasn't really the one who sent out the invitations..." Sonic explained, bringing his hands up defensively.

"Indeed. I'm responsible for summoning Lord Sonic's friends to New Nocturne for the meeting." Shade butted in, walking a little ahead of Vector in order to catch his attention.

"And you didn't think to invite me?" Vector said, turning to Shade and sounding both angry and hurt.

"That is because I don't even know you, let alone you being Sonic's friend. I merely gathered those who were initially present in Sonic's group at the time I met them." Shade said, as she leered at Vector for his tone of voice to her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever... Still, I never would have guessed, Son- I mean, Lord Sonic." Vector said, changing his mood rather quickly. "You, leader of the... Uh, what was it? Nocturnus Clan, right?"

"Yeah, I know. It's all a big change for me." Sonic said, turning to look ahead of him. As he did, he couldn't help think that if Vector and the rest of Team Chaotix didn't know, then maybe some of the others didn't know either.

*Mrs. Vanilla and little Cream probably don't know either... And I can bet that Jet and his crew have no idea as well...* Sonic thought to himself, listing down everyone he knew that should know about his new life as Imperator. And as he listed them down, one name he knew all to well came up... and it sent a violent chill up his spine...

*Eggman...* Sonic thought, his eyes widening as he did. The doctor definitely didn't know about all of this... or does he? The good doctor does have a way of gathering information...

"Alright, here we are!" Vector exclaimed, which made Sonic almost jump in surprise. "Welcome to Team Chaotix HQ!"

"Oh..." Sonic said, looking up the rather shabby looking apartment building as he saw a small wooden sign on the third floor window with the words 'Team Chaotix HQ, Detectives and all-around Good Guys'.

Honestly, Sonic has never been to Team Chaotix HQ before. He knew they detectives from what Knuckles had told him of them before. And he assumed that perhaps their HQ was a little... well, something like a small police department. Instead, here he was looking at an old apartment building that looked as if it was ready for demolition.

"I've never been here before, Vector..." Sonic said honestly, still looking at the building. "And I was kinda expecting something a bit more... HQ-ish..."

"Hey now! The old base may look a little run down, but we've been living here ever since the whole Carnival Island incident a few years back!" Vector said, walking up the front steps as he stood proudly at the top.

"And I'm sure the place has some sentimental value for you and the other guys." Sonic said, still looking at the apartment building.

"It sure does! Aside from the landlord, this place feels like home for me and the gang." Vector said, turning to face the door as he set the grocery bag down and looked around the cuffs on his wrist for the key. "I just hope I can make the rent this month."

"Make the rent? Why? Having money problems, Vector?" Sonic asked, focusing his gaze at Vector.

"Well, to be very honest, me and the gang are broke... And having Knuckles around made the situation a little bit more difficult... Especially with his new attitude." Vector explained, which made Sonic scowl.

*What have you been doing, Knuckles?* Sonic thought, angry at the prospect that Knuckles was making life hard for his friends. "Hurry, Vector. I want to have a word with Knuckles as soon as possible."

* * *

It didn't take long for Vector to usher in Sonic and his entourage. They walked through the lobby, met up with Vector's landlord, who angrily reminded Vector of his rent, then went up and made their way to the third floor and walked towards the end of a rather small hallway. It was near the end of the hallway that Vector showed them his humble little home. Team Chaotix HQ was written on the glass of the door.

Vector opened the door and lead them to the living room, which was their make-shift office of sorts. Setting the groceries on the office table in front of him, Vector yelled out Charmy and Espio's names, which the duo quickly responded, and went to greet Sonic, Shade and the others.

"It's nice to see you again, Sonic." Espio said, bowing to him.

"Ditto from me!" Charmy said happily, as he buzzed about the room.

"Hey guys, show a little respect! It's LORD Sonic now." Vector said, getting in between Espio and Charmy as he placed his arms over the two's shoulders all buddy-buddy like.

"My apologies, Lord Sonic." Espio said, bowing once more. To which Shade nodded in an accepting manner.

"I like this one, Lord Sonic. He knows well to show respect." Shade made mention, crossing her arms as she walked to her Imperator's side with a tiny smirk.

"Lord? Sonic? What's going on?" Charmy asked, turning towards Vector questioningly.

"I'll tell ya about it later, Charmy." Vector said, bringing his hand up to ruffle the kid's head and made his helmet fall over his eyes. "In the mean time, Espio, why don't you get lunch ready?"

"Will do, boss." Espio replied, slipping off of Vector's grasp and grabbing the grocery bag. He then made his way to the left side of the room towards the kitchen.

"Wait up! I wanna cook too!" Charmy yelled, escaping Vector's onslaught of his head and chasing after Espio.

"You don't have to cook lunch for us, Vector." Sonic said, waving his hand in front of him.

"Nonsense! You're guests! It's only proper!" Vector said, giving a broad smile.

"But there's so many of us." Sonic said, turning to look behind him and towards his soldiers, before looking back at Vector. "I wouldn't want to make your already hard lifestyle harder..."

"Don't worry about it so much, Lord Sonic!" Vector said, walking up to the blue hedgehog's side and putting his arm around his shoulder. "You can always make it up to us later! Like, dinner or something!"

"(Chuckle), Alright, alright. After our business here, you guys can come with us to my citadel for dinner." Sonic said, grinning a little.

"Alright!" Vector exclaimed, as he removed his arm over Sonic and jumped a little. "I'll go tell the boys!"

"Wait, Vector, about Knuckles..." Sonic said, his arm outstretched as he watched Vector run off to the kitchen.

"He's over by the guest room, right next to mine over to your right. You can't miss it..." Vector yelled, his voice trailing off as he left Sonic, Shade and the others alone.

Left alone, Sonic looked over to Shade and nodded. Shade knew what he was thinking, and followed him to go and look for Knuckles as the others followed behind. The right side of Vector's place was a small lounge with two couches and a TV in the middle. Over to the walls within the lounge were doors, five of them, with names on each one. From left to right it was; Charmy's, Espio's, the Bathroom, and Vector's.

The fifth door didn't have a name. Which Sonic can only assume was the guest room where Knuckles was staying.

"Alright guys, I want you to stay here in the lounge while me and Shade go over and talk with Knuckles." Sonic said, facing his soldiers.

"And if anything happens, be ready to protect Lord Sonic." Shade added, to which everyone nodded in unison.

Sonic wanted to say to Shade that nothing bad would actually happen since this was his friend Knuckles. But he didn't want to delay anymore, and simply wanted this issue to be done. And so, he walked towards Knuckles' room with Shade by his side.

Standing in front of the door, Sonic knew Knuckles was there. He could feel the Master Emerald's aura behind the door. Raising his hand carefully, Sonic knocked on the door. No response. He knocked once more, hearing a loud crash and heavy stomping sounds coming towards him. The door swung open, the Emerald's light illuminating the room a bright green and blinding Sonic and Shade for a bit.

"What is it! I said I didn't want to be distur-" A loud voice yelled from the door, which Sonic recognized immediately even though the Emerald's light was still blinding him a bit.

"Knuckles? Is that you?" Sonic asked, despite knowing exactly who it was. Silence was his only reply, aside from a rather low growl. It was then that Sonic's eyes adjusted to the bright light and saw his ever so hot-headed friend.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me..." Knuckles replied, sounding a little angry about something as he moved aside a bit. "Come on in."

With that said, Sonic and Shade made their way inside. The room was fairly small and empty, just a bed and chair was in the room. And the Master Emerald, of course, which was propped to the wall on the right and next to the chair. Knuckles readied to close the door behind them, but Shade cut him off and held the door open. The two stared down for a brief moment, before Knuckles turned his head aside with a grunt and left the door open.

"So, what do you guys want?" Knuckles asked in a growl as he took his place on the chair next to the Master Emerald.

Sonic stood next to the bad, originally going to sit but changed his mind. There was a lot of anger in Knuckles' voice. More so than usual anyway. It wasn't such a bother most of the time, but Sonic is getting this strange vibe that Knuckles' anger is being directed at him...

"How have you been, Knuckles?" Sonic asked, putting his hands behind his back as he spoke calmly. Sonic thought that perhaps a casual conversation would calm the hot-head a little.

"Let's skip the pleasantries, Sonic. Just say what you have to say and go. I'm in a rotten mood..." Knuckles growled, as he leaned against the chair, propping one leg up on his knee and crossing his arms as he put on a glare at Sonic.

"But I really want to talk with you first." Sonic said, a genuinely concerned tone in his voice.

"Thanks. But I don't need you messing with my life any more than you already have..." Knuckles said, mumbling the last part a bit as he sulked in his chair.

"What do you mean, Knuckles?" Sonic asked, hearing the last part despite the mumbling. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No... I... Forget it..." Knuckles said, trying his best to avoid eye contact.

"If there's something wrong, Knuckles, I-" Sonic began, but was cut off as Knuckles nearly yelled sternly.

"No! I said forget about it!" Was Knuckles' reply.

Sonic's reaction to his response was at first shock, but then he felt a little hurt that one of his friends wouldn't let him help with whatever was bothering him. But also, at the same time, he felt angry... Sonic furrowed his brow and readied a response. But Shade answered first.

"I'd watch your tone, Knuckles." Shade threatened, glaring down at the red echidna, as her Leech Blades flickered briefly. Although Shade said nothing else afterward, her eyes sent enough of a message to Knuckles that she was serious.

"(Hmph), Whatever..." Knuckles replied, turning his head away even further. "Just tell me the reason for your visit and get going. I wanna be alone..."

"Well, Knuckles, if you must know. We came here to talk about your tribe." Sonic began, no longer feeling himself cautious or nervous as he felt a little ticked off.

"What about my tribe?" Knuckles asked, turning to Sonic with more interest, but scowling as he did.

"I understand that the previous Guardian told you of your clan's duties, correct?" Shade asked, her face not showing any emotion.

"Of course he did. Why do you think I'm guarding the Master Emerald in the first place?" Knuckles replied, turning his attention to Shade.

"Then I guess you should know this: Your right to guard the Master Emerald is a right that was never yours to begin with." Shade explained, in a tone that was both stern yet calm.

"What!" Knuckles exclaimed, shocked as he sat up from the chair.

"I'm afraid she's right, Knuckles." Sonic continued, and although he wanted to speak casually with Knuckles, he changed his mind when Knuckles started acting like an ass.

"The war between your clan and the Nocturnus Clan that happen centuries ago ended with your clan losing. Basically, your clan pretty much gave everything they had to the Nocturnus Clan." Sonic continued, and although he was feeling a bit pissed about Knuckles attitude a while back, he couldn't help feel a sense of pity for his red friend.

"What!" Knuckles said once more, a little louder this time, as he turned towards Sonic. At the same time, Knuckles clenched his fists audibly. As he seemingly seethed with rage.

"After the Argus Event that took the Nocturnus Clan to the Twilight Cage, your clan probably took advantage of our absence to reclaim their possessions." Shade said, moving forward slightly after noticing the growing anger within Knuckles. "Regardless, documentation shows that the Nocturnus Clan owns everything your clan owns, despite the time that has passed."

"So what does this all mean, exactly?" Knuckles asked with a deep growl, half-way standing from his seat.

"It means that everything within the Mystic Ruins, along with Angel Island, the Master Emerald and the other Chaos Emeralds belong to Imperator Sonic and the Nocturnus Clan." Shade said, her expression growing into a scowl as she watched Knuckles slowly rise a little from his seat as he visibly gritted his teeth.

"Are you saying that you'll be taking the Master Emerald from me!" Knuckles said, almost yelling as he was now in a crouching position. His fists at his side, and visibly shaking with rage.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Knuc-" Sonic began, concerned by his friend's growing rage. But he was cut off by Knuckles once again.

"Don't take this the wrong way! Everything you just said to me is wrong!" Knuckles yelled, his rage finally pouring out as he moved slightly to his side where the Master Emerald was. "The Master Emerald is my clan's legacy! MY legacy! And you're saying that I have no right to have it!"

"It's not like that, Knuckles!" Sonic yelled, trying to calm him down and talk some sense into him. "You're blowing this out of proportion!"

"You have some nerve, Sonic. You're already Imperator of the Nocturnus Clan, and now you want MY Master Emerald!" Knuckles yelled, even louder than before.

"But Knuckles-!" Sonic began, but was cut off once more.

"Shut it! If you want the Master Emerald, you're going to have to fight me for it!" Knuckles yelled, louder than anything else he's done, his voice making the room shake.

Sonic was afraid of this. He knew Knuckles was going to blow his top when they tell him. Sonic brought his fists up, getting ready to fight. But as much as he needed to, he didn't want to fight Knuckles... Because he knows that fighting him in this state can only make things worse... And somehow, deep down, Sonic could feel that Knuckles wasn't actually angry about all this... No. Sonic could feel that Knuckles was more hurt than angry. He's just reacting in the only way he can...

*Don't make me do this, Knuckles...* Sonic thought, looking at his friend, who was simply standing over the Master Emerald and doing what he was supposed to do. Protect it.

Sonic knew that things are going to end badly, one way or another. But what Sonic couldn't figure out was why he was reacting like this... He knows that Knuckles can be such a hot-head sometimes, but he wasn't one to just burst into rage like this for no reason. It's as if he's been holding back a lot of pent up rage. And this news was what triggered it to burst.

Noticing the distressed look in her Lord's face, Shade knew that Sonic wasn't up to fight his friend. And so, Shade took hold of her lord's arm and pushed it down.

"I'll take care of this, my Lord." Shade said, glaring deeply at Knuckles as she did.

"Shade, please-" Sonic protested, but Shade simply shook her head.

"There's no time! Your safety is more important to me than anything else!" Shade said, taking her hand off her Lord as she took a step forward and her Leech Blades began to glow.

Although things didn't go the way they had hoped, Shade would never forgive herself if her Lord came to harm... Nor would she ever forgive Knuckles if he brought harm to him, either. Shade will do what she can to protect her Lord, even against those she considers friends and allies. But there was no time for regrets or second thoughts...

A battle was about to ensue...

* * *

To be Continued...


	13. Chapter 12: A World of Hurt

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Hey gang, I'm back! Sorry for the near two-month absence. Summer vacation was just a blast! But with school coming over the horizon, it's time to get back to some serious matters. Seems to me that I've been neglecting you guys, and that's bad... Especially considering the hang-over chapter from before. After all, we all want to see what happens to Knuckles right? Anywho, let me just be quiet now and let you guys just read. Go, read on!

By the by, I got into a bit of a conversation with a friend of mine, and he asked me about how the Nocturnus Clan members are ranked since I ranked a Hastatus higher than an Equite earlier in the story, despite the fact that an Equite has higher stats compared to a Hastatus. The reason for this is because while the Equite has higher stats because they're fought at a higher leveled area, the Hastatus you fight early in the game was ranked as a Boss character. And since Equites can be commonly fought once you enter the Twilight Cage, I'm guessing they're stronger versions of Velites. (Velites being the Equite equivalents found in the early areas of the game.)

Hmm... Perhaps I'm reading into this far too much... Maybe I'll just list the ranks of the Nocturnus soldiers in a future chapter... Or am I getting far too carried away... What do you guys think?

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 12: A World of Hurt

* * *

Tensions were hot within the cramped little room that two echidnas have chosen as their battlefield. The air was thick with anger as Knuckles and Shade stared at each other, nearly unblinking, as they stood without a stir. With fists clenched and gritted teeth the two were determined for a cause that both the echidnas considered their greatest duty. For Knuckles, the Master Emerald. A large gem of immense power. For Shade, it was her Lord and Master... Imperator Sonic.

The worth the two measured for those they wish to protect were heavy. Almost infinite. And both are about to bargain their own lives to see them safe. And although Shade's steely demeanor was just as sharp as it usually is, there was a thick cloud hovering on Knuckles' mind... And Shade could sense it...

Somehow, Shade can feel that Knuckles' concentration was not at its pique. There was something off. And it wasn't just mere anger either... no... It was something else...

Nevertheless, Shade did not dwell heavily on it. There was only one person to whom her concerns will always focus. And it's her Lord.

Suddenly, almost a blur, Knuckles lunged forward with his fists ready, and a battle-cry filled with seething rage. Shade readied herself, her Leech Blades flickering to life by her will as she raised her forearm to block Knuckles' incoming fist. She winced slightly on impact, surprised by the extra strength that she wasn't expecting. But she nonetheless shrugged it off and merely held her arm up as Knuckles continued to bring forth more punches.

Behind Shade was Sonic, his fist shaking in frustration. He didn't want this to happen... But he knew it was inevitable. Knuckles was never the type to think first before doing anything. Even over the smallest of things, Knuckles would often prefer just bashing a problem. But this wasn't anything small. And Sonic found himself in the most unbearable position he could think of.

Sonic inched his right foot forward, as he pushed himself closer towards Shade. But he drew back quickly with a second thought. He wanted to step in and stop all of this...

He tried to step in once more, but before he could even move, Shade moved back and blocked Sonic.

"Lord Sonic, please, do not interrupt." Shade whispered as she continued to block Knuckles' moves.

"Shade, I-" Sonic began, but was cut off before he could continue.

"My Lord, please, I do not want to see anything bad happening to you." Shade explained, as she stepped forward to continue the fight.

*Damn it...* Was all Sonic could say, but kept it to himself. There was nothing he can do but watch... and hope that neither of the two end up getting injured... or worse...

But as Sonic continued to concern himself with the dire situation before him, Shade concentrated on defending her Lord as she and Knuckles have begun exchanging blows of various kinds.

*A high right hook... a low left uppercut... a right kick to my side...* Shade thought, as she carefully predicted Knuckles' moves. Shade was well aware of all of Knuckles' moves from way before. Both from when she fought him before, as well as when she fought by his and Sonic's side. She can easily block and evade any of them with ease. And Knuckles' growing rage is making him reckless and fumble even the simplest of his moves.

*His mind is obviously far too driven by his rage to even concentrate.* Shade said to herself, dodging yet another punch to her face, as she countered with a punch of her own.

The two continued to exchange blows. But as they did, Shade's Leech Blades flickered brighter, as the one on Shade's right formed into an actual blade of energy.

*A sharp stab to his side would definitely stun him.* Shade thought as she reeled back her right arm in a low position.

Seeing this, Sonic mentally gasped, as he outstretched his arm to hold on to Shade's shoulder, as he nudged himself forward next to her right. Shade carefully, and briefly, twisted her head to her side as she gave a very low; "What is it, my Lord?" to Sonic as she continued to block Knuckles' moves with only her left arm.

"Please, Shade, I don't want you using your Leech Blades." Sonic whispered to Shade.

"I'm only going to lightly wound him, my Lord." Shade whispered back, trying her best to block with only one arm.

"No. I don't want any kind of injury on any of my friends." Sonic said, sounding rather stern. With a somewhat defeated look, Shade closed her eyes briefly, and calmly made the blade of energy disappear. She then brought her right arm up, to block an incoming move, as she felt Sonic's hand leave her shoulder.

"Thank you, Shade." Sonic whispered, as he moved back again and saw Shade nod to him.

After the exchange, Shade gave a brief smirk while she delivered a rather strong punch towards Knuckles' face.

*You are quite lucky, Knuckles.* Shade thought, as Knuckles blocked her powerful punch, though not without being pushed back by the force. *Looks like I'm going to have to rethink my method of putting you down.*

Within seconds, Shade leaned down a bit as she shifted her left foot back. And while Knuckles was still recovering from the punch she delivered just mere seconds ago, Shade brought her left foot careening towards Knuckles' right side. Exerting an ample amount of force, Shade's kick nearly toppled Knuckles over, making the red echidna wince visibly.

Seeing the opportunity, Shade quickly brought her right fist forward, colliding powerfully with Knuckles' face. Despite the strength of Shade's two attacks, Knuckles stood his ground. Merely grunting, and shrugging the pain off as best he could. He then pushed his right fist forward once more, yelling louder and angrier than he was earlier.

Shade brought both of her hands up, prepared to parry the blow. The impact was so strong that Shade was literally pushed back several inches. And her Leech Blades had to actually generate a small barrier just to block the blow's power.

Grunting a bit to herself from the blow, Shade actually winced, as a wave of pain rippled across her arms and all the way to her back.

*That was stronger than I would've expected...* Shade thought, as she put her right foot behind her to try and get her footing back before Knuckles could get another attack in.

Seeing Shade's form waver slightly, Sonic took it as an opportunity to stop this fight.

*Right. This just can't go on like this.* Sonic said, finally stomping forward, and with his lightning reflexes and speed, he got in between Knuckles and Shade and placed his hands in front of both of them.

"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" Sonic yelled, looking back and forth between the two before finally stopping to look at Knuckles. "Knuckles, please, listen to me!"

"Shut up..." Was what Knuckles answered with, his tone dark and angry, as he brought his free hand up and slugged Sonic square in the face.

Not prepared to take the blow, Sonic was sent flying off as he crashed into a nearby dresser, destroying the dresser as splintered wood and clothing flew out in every direction. The dresser looked as if it was cut in half, with Sonic lying on the center.

"LORD SONIC!" Shade screamed in terror as she saw her Lord lying lifeless on the floor underneath pieces of broken wood and clothing.

Shade's concern for her Lord exploded in her mind as it sent shock-waves down her body and made her numb. But then, that numbness dissipated and turned into burning anger. Shade turned her gaze towards the man responsible for what happened to her Lord, her eyes burning with so much anger that it went blood-shot.

With a primal scream that rivalled even any berserker or banshee, Shade charged towards Knuckles. Her eyes filled with blood-lust-ridden fury. The runes and neon on her battle-suit, as well as her Leech Blades, began glowing brighter as the energy that flowed within them sent small crackles of electricity around Shade's body.

With one mighty stomp of her foot, the wood underneath cracked and split, Shade reeled back her right fist. The strength she's exerting in her fist made it shook, as the focus of her battle-suit's energy generated a large current of electrical energy around Shade's right arm. And as she sent it forward to erase Knuckles' face from existence, the force was literally cutting the air around her.

Whether Knuckles was still reeling from his attack, or was frozen with fear, or simply didn't care, he stood and took Shade's mighty blow. His face seemingly expressionless. But as he took the attack, his face flattened slightly, as the wave of the electrical currents pulsing from Shade's fist made his body spasm. But as it went on, the true effect of the attack sank in, and sent Knuckles flying off towards the nearby wall.

Knuckles crashed into the wall with a bone-cringing thud, as he bounced off slowly and fell towards the ground. But before he could even hit the floor, Shade was upon him once more. With eyes seemingly blank with rage, Shade took hold of Knuckles' neck with one hand, spun him over, and slammed him down upon the floor. The currents of electricity crackled across Knuckles' form, leaving bruises and burns all over his body and leaving several black splotches here and there.

Knuckles coughed up a bit of blood, as he tried to open his eyes. His vision was blurry, the pain all over his body is making even breathing difficult as each breath he took in racked him with pain. He managed to slightly open one eye, making it focus slightly as he saw the angry form of Shade in front of him.

*S-Shade...?* Knuckles thought, seemingly unaware of where he was. Collecting his thoughts and focusing on the situation, he felt a tinge of fear as he saw Shade's blood-shot eyes and her heavy breathing made her sound like she was growling.

"You dared to hurt my Lord... you dared to hurt... Sonic..." Shade said, her voice low and threatening. "I will kill you..."

As Shade said these words, Knuckles shook involuntarily under her grasp. For the first time in his life... Knuckles felt true fear... He began to sweat as the haze across his mind went away and he felt the world around him go silent, watching Shade as she slowly brought her hand up. Her Leech Blades began to form those ever so familiar blades of energy that has brought down many of her foes. But there was something different this time.

The blades of energy forming on Shade's hand sharpened and looked very concentrated to the point, as it hummed and glowed with a threatening presence. They looked exactly what they looked like when they were fighting Eggman's bots... Recalling the way she sliced them to pieces...

*No...* Knuckles thought, his fear growing further as he realized what was gonna happen... he was gonna die...

Knuckles struggled in a panic, frantically flailing about as best he could. But his body felt weak. And Shade's grip on his neck made sure he was where she wanted him to be... But as a moment passed, Shade's runes and neon began to fade down back to normal. As did her Leech Blades. The threatening glow of the blade faded, eventually disappearing, as Shade's breathing calmed.

"Or at least, I would kill you... but I won't... It's not something my Lord would have wanted..." Shade said lowly, as she took her hand off of Knuckles' neck and stood. "I'll have you placed in custody for attacking Imperator Sonic."

With those words, Shade called in the guards that came with her and Sonic. She told them to bring Knuckles to New Nocturne and lock him in the dungeon. In his weakened state, Knuckles couldn't do much, and was easily taken by the guards. But before they could all leave, Shade called out for two of the guards to stay and help her care for their Lord.

The two guards, surprised to hear of their Lord's condition, did not hesitate to run to his side.

"What happened in here?" A voice from the door said.

Turning towards the voice, Shade saw a very concerned Vector and Charmy whose heads were poking in to see the semi-destroyed guest room.

"I'll explain everything. But right now, perhaps you can help us with Lord Sonic." Shade said, trying to be calm. But you can see the grave concern in her eyes as she turned towards her Lord, who is now on the bed.

Seeing Sonic passed out on the bed, Vector called out to Espio, and the trio of friends went in to do what they can.

* * *

After several minutes of being unconscious, Sonic eventually moaned loudly, as he placed a hand on his face. His nose was slightly sore, and so he roamed over it to see if there was anything wrong. It was fine for the most part. Not broken, just very sore from the punch Knuckles had given him. It was times like these that he was glad to be very durable. Enough to take someone who has super strength and not get killed. Still, he wasn't invulnerable or anything, so the punch still left quite the impression over him.

Sonic sat up as slowly as he could, moving his hand to the back of his head. Before fainting, he recalled smashing into something hard and wooden. Lucky for him he had toughened quills, or else he would have been seriously hurt. Still, his head felt very sore. And he found it a bit difficult to think with the painful pounding that had suddenly made itself present.

"Oh! Lord Sonic!" Two rather brightly, and rather relieved, voices spoke in unison beside him. Looking to his side, Sonic saw two of his guards from before was sitting on the foot of the bed. One had a wet wash cloth while the other held some bandages. Sonic couldn't see who they were, since they had their masks up.

"We're so relieved to see that you are alright, my Lord." One of the two said, female from what Sonic could tell, and her suit glowed with a light yellow, sorta cream-colored neon.

"We thought you'd be unconscious for a while. You woke up before we could even bandage you up, my Lord." The other said, another female, but her suit glowed a light green, kinda mint-colored neon.

"What... happened...?" Sonic asked, his mind still reeling from the sudden aching of his head.

"Procurator Shade told us that you got sucker punched by Knuckles, my Lord." The the cream-colored one said, dabbing the wet wash cloth over her Lord's forehead. Sonic suddenly winced, surprised that something painful came from his forehead.

"Oh! I'm sorry, my Lord!" The cream neon soldier said, bringing her hand back and away from Sonic as she tilted her head down. "I apologize if I hurt you, my Lord..."

"No, no, it's okay. I was just surprised. I didn't think I was hurt in any other place beside my nose and the back of my head." Sonic explained with a pained grinned as he touched his forehead and feeling a small wound to the right. "I wonder how I got this?"

"Well, you see, when we found you, my Lord, the wooden dresser you crashed into apparently fell on top of you when you split it in half." The cream neoned soldier explained, bringing her head up once more.

"We figured that some of the split wood gashed you lightly. We found several other wounds all over your body, my Lord." The mint neoned one said this time.

After hearing this, Sonic grinned ever so slightly as he gave the mint neoned soldier a knowing nod.

"All over my body you say? I guess you had to take off my armor to get to them." Sonic asked playfully with a sly grin.

"Huh? Oh... OH! O-o-oh n-no, no, no, my Lord! Y-your wounds were j-just all over the most exposed parts! Oh! I-I mean-" The mint neoned soldier said, flailing her arms slightly as she panicked. While the other soldier simply tilted her head down once more. And even though you can't see it over the mask, you can tell they were both blushing.

Sonic laughed a little over the situation, taking his hand off the wound on his head.

"Don't worry about it, girls. I know what you mean. I'm just kidding around!" Sonic said, still laughing a little.

"Oh... ahahaha... right... I apologize. I probably looked very unprofessional." The mint neoned soldier said, rubbing the back of her head. Embarrassed, but relieved.

"No, no, it's cool. It felt nice to get the edge off." Sonic said cheerfully as he gave them a smile. "But I guess I kinda distracted you guys from what you were doing."

"It is quite alright, my Lord." The cream neoned one said this time, sounding a bit meek.

"Right then, what say we continue with patching me up?" Sonic said, bringing his hand back to his head as the throbbing pain came back.

"Of course, my Lord. We wouldn't want to keep Procurator Shade waiting." The mint neoned soldier said, as she gestured to her friend to continue dabbing their Lord with the wash cloth.

"Where is she anyway?" Sonic asked, trying his best not to wince from the stinging effect of the cloth on his wound.

"She's with Vector and the rest of the Chaotix, my Lord." The cream neoned one said, sounding less meek, and now somewhat happy. "She's speaking to them about the condition of the guest room."

Sonic took a glance around the room as this was mentioned and noticed the damage done in such a cramp little room. He was surprised the whole place didn't collapse. As his eyes wandered about, he caught sight of the Master Emerald over at the corner. Sonic figured that he would have to deal with the repercussions of what happened between him and Knuckles sometime soon...

*Can't think about that now... I'll talk to Shade about it later...* Sonic thought, as he took his gaze away from the Master Emerald and back to the two girls taking care of him.

"By the way, can I have your names?" Sonic asked, trying to take his mind off of the incident today.

The two girls paused a bit, exchanging glances with each other briefly before turning back to their Lord.

"I am Princep Lyra, my Lord." The mint neoned soldier said with a light bow.

"And I am Hastatus BB, my Lord." The cream neoned soldier said, also with a bow.

* * *

While Sonic was busy being tended to in the guest room by two of his bodyguards, Shade took it as an opportune moment to speak with Vector and his team. She knew of the damage done by her fight with Knuckles, and she wasn't going to just ignore it. After all, the fight did tear the place up quite badly. So Shade opted to take responsibility and make amends as best she could.

"Perhaps a fair sum would suffice? Enough to repair the room at least." Shade spook, leaning forward from the couch as she spoke with Vector in the living room.

"That would cover the damages... But I'd feel pretty awful if I let you pay the whole sum yourself." Vector said, crossing his legs as he rubbed at his chin. "After all, half of the damage is Knuckles' fault..."

"True. But you need not bother. He's in our custody, as such, we will pay his debt to you as he continues to pay for his crimes with us." Shade said cooly, waving her hand to the side nonchalantly.

"Well... If you say so. Still, I feel kinda awful for him." Vector said, looking bothered as he turned towards his right to face the wall.

"Don't be. Assault on a royal figure is a heinous crime." Shade answered, keeping her temper in check over thinking about what Knuckles had done to Sonic.

"I guess so... (sigh)..." Vector replied, bringing his hand up to rub his temples, his eyes lined with concern. "Listen... I can tell you hate the Knuckles... But can I ask you to go easy on him..."

"What makes you say I hate Knuckles?" Shade asked, looking away in opposite of Vector, her attempts to hide her anger slipping only for a split second in her tone.

"I'm a detective, Procurator Shade. If I can't figure out someone's thoughts, then I'm not doing my job." Vector explained, returning to look towards Shade. "I must admit though, you've got quite the poker face."

"Interesting..." Shade replied, turning to face Vector as well, a small smile on her face. "My first impression of you was of a bumbling Detective trying to make ends meet. I can see now that your title as Detective was not something simply given to you."

"It's a title I've earned. And I take great pride in the skills taught to me." Vector replied, smiling to himself as he polished his nails on his chest smugly.

"No doubt about that, Mr. Vector." Shade said. She then slowly tilted her head up as a thought came to her. "You know, we could use someone like you..."

"What are you implying?" Vector asked, looking serious.

"I'm sure the landlord here isn't going to be happy about what happened. And I'm sure you still have quite the debt to pay for your rent..." Shade began, shifting her position on the couch as she crossed her legs and leaned back.

"Don't worry about the landlord. I think the old guy's gotten used to this sort of thing by now." Vector said, waving a hand dismissively.

"Perhaps. But what I'm suggesting is that you and Team Chaotix come and work for Imperator Sonic." Shade said, gesturing an open hand in-front of Vector.

"Are you kidding? This place means a lot for me and my boys. We can't just leave. Especially in the condition its in." Vector said, straightening up in his seat.

"I understand that. But I think you and your team deserve to be treated better than this." Shade said, straightening up as well. "Besides, you'll be amongst friends. Me, Tails, and of course Lord Sonic. Oh, and frequent visits from the others."

"I'm not sure..." Vector said, crossing his arms as he tilted his head down.

"I'll even let you monitor Knuckles while he's locked up." Shade said, making Vector look up at her wide eyed.

"Monitor Knuckles?" Vector asked, slightly confused by her suggestion.

"I know you are concerned for you best friend. But you must understand that I can't let his crimes go unpunished. The best compromise is that I'll let you monitor him. That way, he can serve his sentence, and you can keep an eye on his condition." Shade said, her tone calm.

Vector took a minute to think on the offer. He looked over to his left as he caught eye of the picture of him and Team Chaotix when they were all still together.

"I'll have to talk with the boys about it first. I wouldn't want to make any decisions without everyone's opinion on it." Vector said, turning back towards Shade as he watched her stand up.

"Of course." Shade answered, bringing out a small black metallic card-shaped object from a small compartment on her left forearm. "Here. This card contains enough credits to pay for the damages. And in case you accept my offer to come work for Lord Sonic, New Nocturne is in the Green Hill Zone."

Vector nodded as he took the card from Shade and inspected it. Noticing it to be similar to the card given to him by GUN when they paid him for his help against the Nocturnus Clan during Ix's assault on Central City. Only this one is black.

"With that settled, I should go and check on Lord Sonic." Shade said, as she walked off towards the guest room.

Vector watched Shade walk off, waiting until she was inside the room as she closed the door behind her. With her out of view, Vector went back towards looking at the card and began thinking about Shade's offer. He gave a deep and strong sigh as he stood up from where he was seated and moved himself towards the kitchen.

"Espio! Charmy! We've got some things to discuss!"

* * *

To be Continued...


	14. Chapter 13: Allies and Enemies

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Ah, finally got to posting this. I'm sorry for disappearing for 3 months straight. One's personal life can be such a bother sometimes. I AM SO SORRY. I know the possibilities of being tied up with torture is deserving, but please... Think of the children! Anywho, I hope my writing skills haven't been tainted by my absence. And, again, I'd like to apologize to those who I left hanging for so long. But I'll just stop myself there, and say what needs to be said. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 13: Allies and Enemies

* * *

Sonic stood in front of the mighty gem known as the Master Emerald. After being patched up by his two guards, Sonic took the opportunity to collect his thoughts and reflect on everything that has happened. The incident today was very unpleasant to say the least. He expected Knuckles to lose his temper, but he hadn't expected his red friend to completely retaliate the way he did.

He had heard from his two guards that Knuckles was taken into custody after Shade knocked the red echidna senseless. Knuckles wasn't beaten up so much, but rather he took a strong enough blow that put him down. In fact, he barely struggled when he was taken and sent to New Nocturne from what Lyra and BB told Sonic.

Sonic wasn't sure what to think about how it went. The whole situation just left a very bad taste in his mouth. Sure, he got the Master Emerald secure. But it ended up breaking apart his friendship with Knuckles... Even though Knuckles dealt the first punch, Sonic couldn't help but feel awful...

But the issue with the Master Emerald was a different matter all in all. Sure, it was what made Knuckles angry AND attack. But Knuckles was already angry with him long before Sonic even brought up the Master Emerald...

*I don't need you messing with my life any more than you already have...* Sonic thought, recalling what his friend had said before the fight began.

Sonic didn't understand exactly what he had done. Messing with his life? When has Sonic messed with his life? And in what way?

"What could he have meant..." Sonic murmured, bringing his hand up to lightly touch the surface of the Master Emerald.

Before Sonic could continue to think on the matter, Shade approached him and stood by his right.

"Are you feeling alright, my Lord?" Shade asked, unable to hide the worry in her voice.

"I'm okay, Shade. I was just thinking about what happened." Sonic said, turning his head slightly to look at Shade.

"I know what you mean. I can understand Knuckles being upset, but the way he reacted was something neither of us expected." Shade said, turning to look towards her Lord.

"I know... And I can't help but feel like something's wrong..." Sonic said, unable to hide the hurt in his green eyes. "He told me that I've been messing with his life enough already..."

"I do recall him saying that. But I cannot think of any instance of you messing with his life." Shade said, trying to reassure her Lord.

"I know. After all, we've been friends for such a long time." Sonic said, the hurt in his eyes still there.

"Perhaps... we should speak with him when we return." Shade said, delaying what she wanted to propose. She was still angry about what Knuckles had done to her Lord earlier. She's been trying her best to hide it and remain neutral. But her Lord's well-fare was far more important than her petty grudges.

"No... At least not now. Let him cool down a bit. Although I do expect that his time in prison isn't too hard." Sonic said, looking up at Shade.

"His punishment will be just. No exceptions, my Lord, I'm sorry." Shade said, calmly yet stern. "Although it's nothing he can't handle."

"Right. Of course... no special treatment. (Sigh), It wouldn't be fair." Sonic said, looking rather sad, but tried his best to pull on a smile. "But no torture."

"I wouldn't dream of it, my Lord." Shade replied, shaking her head lightly.

"Good. At least that will lighten my concern for him... just a little..." Sonic said, relieved, but unable to keep his smile up.

With his mood slowly going down again, Sonic turned towards the Master Emerald once more. And as he looked at it, he began to recall his original plan that he hoped to use when confronting Knuckles about the today...

It was just a disaster... And he was partly to blame. When his conversation with Knuckles began, Knuckles' sour mood and cold words got him worked up too much that he had forgotten the plan... He let his small temper light a fuse that blew up any chance for this whole situation to have ended in at least a lighter note...

"My Lord? You seem to be in deep thought... Care to share?" Shade asked, concern evident in her tone and expression.

"(Sigh...), You know... I had a plan ready... A plan I wanted to use to make sure this whole thing with getting the Master Emerald ending peacefully..." Sonic began, touching the Master Emerald once more.

"Might I hear it, my Lord?" Shade asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"I think you already know how dedicated Knuckles is when it comes to protecting the Master Emerald. After all, it's the only thing he had going for him almost all his life. At least until he met us, his friends. But even then, he always thought more of this Emerald than anything else." Sonic began to explain, running his hand around the Master Emerald.

"He must feel that the Master Emerald is the only link he has left of his people. Being the only one of his kind for so long must have left him quite empty and sad." Shade added, looking towards the Master Emerald as well.

"That's true, Shade. And I feel awful that we had to take it from him. That's why I had hoped to convince Knuckles to move in with us in New Nocturne." Sonic said, turning to Shade, as she turned to him with a raised brow.

"Move in with us?" Shade asked, surprised to say the least. "You mean the way Tails has?"

"Exactly. That way, we have the Master Emerald secure, plus, Knuckles doesn't have to stop guarding it. And he'll be with his friends." Sonic said, with an optimistic smile, but with a sad look in his eyes as he tilted his down and turned away again. "Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way..."

Seeing her Lord saddened, Shade placed a hand on his shoulder. Sonic looked at her, that sad glint in his eye still there. Shade tried her best to look as sympathetic as she could, thinking carefully of what to say.

"You and Knuckles have been close friends for a long time, my Lord. No doubt this conflict between you two will be brief. You two might even come out of it stronger." Shade said, comforting her Lord as she kept her tone calm and soft.

"You know... you might be right, Shade." Sonic said, taking in what she said as he smiled a little. "I have been trying to get him to open up more. This might be a good chance to do so."

"Indeed. With the Master Emerald under our protection from now on, Knuckles will also get the opportunity to finally have a life of his own." Shade continue, happy to see her Lord looking more like his usual self again.

"That's not a bad idea. In fact, what that big lug really needs is a good girlfriend. I'll see if I can hook him up with Amy!" Sonic said, regaining his usual self back as a grin came up to his face.

"Ah, yes, there's the Lord Sonic I know and love." Shade began cheerfully, but stopped, wide eyed, as she realized what she just said.

"Thanks, Shade." Sonic said, shooting her a more proper Sonic smile as he patted the side of her arm. Surprised by this, Shade began to blush, as she looked away as quickly as she could.

"You're... quite w-welcome, my Lord." Shade replied, smiling awkwardly as she tried her best to hide her nervousness.

"My Lord, Vector is asking to speak with you in the living room." A voice from beside Sonic and Shade said. Sonic turned to see Princep Lyra kneeling before him.

"Oh, okay. Come on, Shade. Oh! And Lyra, can you and BB go and bring the Master Emerald with us?" Sonic said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb to the Master Emerald.

"Of course. Right away, my Lord." Lyra replied, standing and calling out to BB who was just outside the door.

With that done, Sonic began walking towards the door as Lyra and BB slipped in by the side to go and pick up the Master Emerald. Shade stared blankly for a minute as she watched her Lord walk out of the room. She was snapped back to her senses when Sonic turned around and gestured her to hurry up. With a calming sigh, Shade began to follow her Lord out the room, her mind still thinking of what she just said.

* * *

As Sonic and Shade left the room, with Lyra and BB following behind them with the Master Emerald, two shadowed figures watched from a tree a short distance from the small window of the guest room.

"It would seem that the new Imperator and his Procurator has beaten us to the Master Emerald." One of the shadowed figures said.

"Yes. And in time, they will send several of their squads to retrieve the other Chaos Emeralds as well." The other shadowed figure said.

"This situation has totally ruined our plans." The first figure said, the tone in its voice irritated. "Do you think Shade knew? Why else would she suddenly tell her Lord to go out and gather the Emeralds?"

"She might. Regardless though, this won't stop us. We will just have to think of a new plan..." The second figure said, as it turned and jumped off of the tree and left, shortly followed by its partner.

* * *

Vector, Espio and Charmy sat beside each other on the living room couch with the TV on. The trio was watching replays from last year's Extreme Gear Grand Prix, particularly the last race in the desert, which featured Sonic and Jet neck-and-neck on the final lap. Despite the fact that the trio knows that Jet was crowned winner of the Grand Prix, they still cheered for Sonic to win.

Soon, the show was reaching its climax. Sonic and Jet just a few yards away from the finish line, with Sonic in the lead. It was at this point that Sonic's board mysteriously crackles with a small spark before exploding under his feet, making the blue hedgehog crash head first against the sand. The trio of friends slumped back on their couch. The race continued on as Jet won. Prompting Vector to shut the TV off.

"I still can't believe Sonic lost that race..." Vector said, setting the remote down before crossing his arms. "He was obviously set up."

"Indeed. His board was sabotaged, no doubt about that." Espio said, also crossing his arms as he closed his eyes.

But before the trio could talk more about the unfortunate events of that race, Sonic and his entourage came by the trio's side.

"You wanted to talk to me, Vector?" Sonic asked, standing at the side of the couch while Shade and Sonic's two guards stood behind her with the Master Emerald in tow.

"Yeah..." Vector began, before gesturing to the second couch over by his left. "Why don't you and your friends sit over there, Lord Sonic. This is... sorta important..."

Sonic nodded and made his way towards the second couch, with Shade and the other two trailing behind. Sonic took a seat, also Shade, while Lyra and BB went around and stood behind the couch.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Sonic asked, getting himself into a relaxed position as he leaned back against the couch as he tried to put his hands behind his head. Unfortunately the massive collar around his neck, plus the gauntlets, proved to make that impossible. He eventually settled to just cross his arms.

"Lord Sonic... this is kinda hard for me to say..." Vector began, scratching the back of his head as he leaned forward. "Due to the, um... recent events..."

"Is it about what we did to the guest room? Don't worry! I'll pay for it!" Sonic said, trying to cut ahead, thinking this conversation was about the battle and damaged caused.

"No, no, it's not about that..." Vector said, waving his hand in-front of him. "I wanted to ask... If me and the boys... Could, you know... Live with ya over at New Nocturne..."

Sonic tilted his head to the side with a questioning look, before pulling his head back with a playful grin.

"Is that all? (Chuckle), Of course you can live over at New Nocturne!" Sonic exclaimed, the tone his voice cheery and somewhat excited. Vector simply raised a brow in astonishment.

"That's it? You're just gonna let us move in? Just like that?" Vector asked, quite taken aback by the hedgehog's somewhat blunt answer.

"(Tsk, tsk, tsk), Vector. I don't need a reason to help out a friend. I'd be happy to have you and the Chaotix living in my city!" Sonic said with open arms and wide grin on his face.

Vector's expression was nothing short of shock, with a little confusion on the side. But Charmy on the other hand simply beamed, and couldn't help but express his excitement. The little bee boy jumped off his seat with a cheer, as he buzzed around the room with seemingly boundless energy. Charmy went on to repeatedly yell out various things about their upcoming new home.

"It'll be a big change for sure, boss." Espio said, as calm as ever, but with a small smile on his face as he looked over to Vector.

Vector turned to face his chameleon friend, the shock in his face fading away as he turned his attention to the striped ball of energy flying about the small lounge. Vector smiled calmly and with relief that his friends did not object to the idea.

"Thank you, Lord Sonic." Vector said, giving small bow to the blue Imperator.

"Don't worry about it big guy." Sonic said, giving Vector a thumb's up.

* * *

It took some time, but the trio of friends, Team Chaotix, managed to pack up their belongings. There wasn't much to pack up really. Just a few clothes, some personal things, and everything they can stuff in a small plastic container from the fridge. Which wasn't much. Sonic, Shade and the two bodguards with the Master Emerald stood at the foot of the door as they waited for the trio.

"Come on you guys." Sonic called out, tapping his foot a little.

"Just hold on for a minute, your Lordship." Vector grunted somewhat sarcastically as he carried his, Espio and Charmy's suitcases. He then dropped the three large bags out the door in front of Sonic and his entorage.

As Vector dropped the suitcases, he took a moment to look back behind him. He has never seen their appartment look so bare... He almost felt a little sad. After all, this apartment was home in every way he can think of for as long as he can remember... Vector looked down to see Espio and Charmy, and from the look in their eyes, Vector knew they thinking the same thing... and were feeling the same way...

"Hey, Lord Sonic..." Vector asked, turning his gaze over to Sonic. "Is it okay if we, ya know... If you can give me and the boys a moment to... say our goodbyes to our old home..."

Sonic looked Vector in the eye and gave him a nod.

"Take all the time you need." Sonic said.

With that, Vector and his friends went back inside their old home for one last goodbye. At the meantime, Sonic turned to Shade with his arms crossed. There was something he has been meaning to ask her since this whole ordeal began. Something that has been nagging him for a while ever since the meeting with Knuckles turned sour...

"Shade..." Sonic called out to her, looking serious.

"What is it, my Lord?" Shade answered, giving her Lord a light bow.

"Since we have some extra time, I've wanted to ask you something..." Sonic began, shifting his weight on one leg. "It has something to do with the Master Emerald..."

"I shall answer any question you give me, my Lord." Shade said, her expression shifting to worry.

"I understand from what you told me before that we needed to secure the Master Emerald and the other Chaos Emeralds. I didn't ask why we needed to before, cause I thought that the Emeralds NEEDED to be secure. Given the relationship me and the Emeralds have." Sonic continued, taking a brief moment to look at the Master Emerald before turning back to Shade.

"I WAS going to ask this when we get back home... But the incident with Knuckles is making me anxious to know... Why DO we need to secure the Emeralds?" Sonic asked, awaiting Shade's reply. Shade sighed, whether from relief or nervousness, Sonic couldn't tell. But the worry in her eyes is making him equally worried of the answer.

"I was hoping to tell you when we arrived home as well... But I think letting you know sooner is for the best. You see, my Lord... there is a threat looming over the horizon." Shade said, the worry in her eyes becoming prominent as her eyebrows sagged downwards.

"A threat? Who? Eggman?" Sonic asked, uncrossing his arms.

"No. Two old foes have returned. One of which you are quite familiar with." Shade began, shaking her head lightly before taking one step forward as she reached for Sonic's hands. She stopped herself half-way, not realizing what she was doing.

*What am I doing?* She asked herself, as she withdrew her hands back. She wasn't sure why she wanted to hold her Lord's hands at that moment... She only knew that the threat to her Lord could mean his life... And her worry for him is making her wish to hold him tightly...

"Who are they, Shade?" Sonic asked, stepping forward as well as he took hold of Shade's withdrawing hands. The touch surprised Shade, but it also made her tighten the grip on her Lord's hands.

"You're awfully worried, Shade." Sonic said, beginning to worry even more. But not for himself, but for Shade.

"For good reason, my Lord." Shade said, avoiding eye contact as best as she could.

"Which is why I need to know who this threat is." Sonic said, which made Shade turn to him as she nodded. Her grip on her Lord tightening further.

"The Prefect Gizoids of Ix... They are still alive... And they want you dead... Lord Sonic..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	15. Chapter 14: Things to Come

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: And here I am again, after being away for SO LONG. Sorry guys, but with the amount of work I'm being piled with, it's been hard to keep updating. But don't worry guys. I WILL finish this story. Albeit more slowly. At least until I can get my workload dwindled down to a more manageable size. Anywho, thanks for all the reviews, it's the reason I remembered this fanfic when I saw those reviews on my e-mail inbox. I'd also like to thank one of those reviewers for pointing out something to me. Right then, with that aside. Read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Nocturnus Reborn

by Sol

Chapter 14: Things to Come

* * *

The streets of Central City looked so beautiful in the afternoon. The sky was dim and adorned with small hints of the coming evening, lighting the place a mix of clear blue and tints of orange here and there. It was also the time of day that the usual hustle and bustle of the big city life was at a stand-still. As to why, no one really knew. But it was awfully peaceful this time of day. People could say that it's one of the reasons why Central City is such a great place to be, despite the past attacks from a certain doctor.

Regardless, that isn't the matter at hand. We turn our attention to the small group of travelers across the street. It was difficult to miss sight of them. What with the hulking gem that they were transporting. At the back of the group was Team Chaotix, the group of Vector, Espio and Charmy are constantly speaking of their new life to be at New Nocturne. In front of them was Princep Lyra and Hastatus BB, who were the one's actually carrying the giant gem in question. At the very front, a bit far off from the group, was Sonic and Shade.

The two highest ranked members of the Nocturnus Clan were having a bit of a private conversation, trying not to let their voices be heard by those traveling behind them.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Shade? Don't you trust me?" Sonic asked, trying his best not to let the others hear.

"I'm sorry, my Lord... I had hoped to deal with the problem myself... I didn't want you to worry..." Shade began, feeling rather ashamed of herself for keeping the secret of the Prefect Gizoids from her Lord.

"Shade, you told me that I'm Imperator now. And as Imperator I have a responsibility to care for my people. And if there are bad guys after me, it could endanger everyone in New Nocturne." Sonic continued, shifting his head closer to Shade's.

"I... I know my Lord... And I'm sorry... I feel terrible for keeping it a secret..." Shade admitted, avoiding her Lord's gaze.

"That's okay, Shade. Nothing we can do about it now." Sonic said, placing a hand across Shade's shoulder. "But how are you certain it's them?"

"Well, when you helped us all return here, many of the Gizoids were shut down and put into storage. When the Archiver told me that the Prefect Gizoids were not amongst the rest of the Gizoids that were salvaged, I assumed the worst." Shade explained, looking rather fearful over the thoughts of any possible harm that would befall her Lord.

"I knew they would seek you out for revenge over what you've done. So, I opted to stop them before they could do anything by collecting the very things that could potentially be used against you, my Lord." Shade continued.

"The Chaos Emeralds..." Sonic said, with a thoughtful look in his eye.

"Exactly. Hence why I wanted them secure and under our protection. I would've collected them sooner, but I wanted your coronation to be of top priority." Shade said.

"Why would you think my coronation is more important than keeping the Emeralds safe?" Sonic asked, raising a brow.

"Because you're their target, my Lord. And since you were going to become Imperator, I wanted you to be safe as soon as possible!" Shade said turning to face her Lord, and unintentionally raising her voice despite being face-to-face with him.

"Sorry, my Lord. I did not intend to raise my voice so close to your face..." Shade said, blushing in embarrassment as she turned away again.

"That's alright. At least I know you care about me." Sonic said, grinning to himself.

"I do not want in any way to see you harmed. I worry about you beyond what my duty tells me." Shade said, looking over to her Lord once more. A sincere expression on her face.

"Oh, Shade... I appreciate the concern. But you worry too much." Sonic said, chuckling lightly to himself as he seemingly didn't take the matter seriously.

"Someone has to worry about you, my Lord... I cannot imagine my life without you..." Shade said, not realizing what she had just said until after it came out of her mouth. She had held her breath then and turned away, looking at her Lord from the corner of her eye as she saw the weight of her words making Sonic gaze at her questioningly.

"Shade... What do you..." Sonic began, but couldn't finish as something, or perhaps better yet, someone had disturbed their conversation.

"Well, well, well... what do we have here..." A familiar and sultry voice said from above the group. "Could I be dreaming? Or is that really the Master Emerald? And out in the open!"

As Sonic and the rest of the group looked up, the person slowly descended and landed just in front of Sonic and Shade, and blowing a kiss towards Sonic.

"Rouge? What are you doing here?" Sonic asked, as Rouge made her way forward towards them.

"Oh, you know me. Where there are precious gems, I'm never far away." She said, her typical smug expression plastered on her face.

"I'd appreciate you being more formal to my Lord, bat." Shade said, taking up a position in-front of her Lord protectively.

"My, my, so hostile. Have I done something wrong?" Rouge asked, facing Shade while still smirking, but in a taunting way.

"You did not address my Lord properly. And I cannot tolerate that." Shade said as she glared, the inlays on her battle-suit beginning to glow lightly.

"Come on, Shade. Lighten up." Sonic said, walking up to Shade's side.

"Very well, my Lord." Shade answered, as she continued to glare at the bat darkly. "Be thankful of my Lord's leniency. But be mindful of your actions."

"I'll try my best." Rouge answered sarcastically, still smirking.

"I hope so. But that aside, what is it you want, bat?" Shade asked with a bit of a growl, crossing her arms as she shifted her position to place herself in front of her Lord once again.

"Oh, so that's how its gonna be... I see... Well then, Ms. Iron-Sides, I was simply-" Rouge began, but was cut-off by Shade.

"What did you call me?" Shade said, feeling her temper rise like a boiling kettle.

"Oh, don't mind it so much." Rouge said, waving her hand nonchalantly. "Now then... Let's get to more important matters..."

"It matters to me greatly knowing whether or not I've been insulted..." Shade said lowly, the inlays of her battle-suit glowing a little brighter.

"Oh, lighten up. I haven't insulted you in any way. *Since it suits your personality quite well...*. So calm down, echidna." Rouge replied with a huff.

With that said, Rouge saunters over to where the Master Emerald is, her eyes reflecting the emerald's glow as she fails to hide the glint of desire in her eyes. Sonic and Shade slowly turn as their eyes followed where Rouge was going. But before Rouge could even get too close, Team Chaotix stepped in to block her path.

"Sorry there lady. Just cause Knuckles isn't here, doesn't mean you can just walk up and take the Master Emerald." Vector said, standing in front of Rouge as he stood stoic and rather serious.

"Hmmph... Alright then, be that way." Rouge said as she spread her wings and began flapping her wings to fly away. "Guess I'll be taking my leave... For now."

"Is that all you wanted to do here, Rouge?" Sonic asked.

"Not really. I originally wanted to check on that dinner-date we had planned." Rouge said, hovering above the group.

"Tonight, right? But I think I'll be taking a rain-check on that one, Rouge. I'm sorta dealing with some things right now." Sonic explained calmly.

"Oh, alright. Don't you worry about it Big Blue. Besides..." Rouge said, looking over Shade with a steely gaze. "... Nah, don't worry about it. I'll just drop by when it's convinient."

"Alright then. See you, Rouge." Sonic said, gesturing a goodbye to the female bat.

"And good riddance..." Shade muttered coldly, looking straight at Rouge and countering the bat's steely gaze with one of her own.

"Right then." Rouge said, blowing a kiss towards Sonic as she smirked and looked over Shade before turning around to leave.

"Hey, Rouge!" Sonic called after the bat, making her turn around to look at him. "I want to ask you a favor!"

"Oh? And that is?" Rouge asked, putting on her best and sultriest smile and a hand on her hip.

"There's gonna be trouble in the near-future. And I wanted to ask if you can put your hunt for the Chaos Emeralds on hold for now. At least until the matter has been settled. Is that okay?" Sonic said, grinning all the while as he placed his hands on his sides.

Rouge merely chuckled as she turned around and readied herself to fly away.

"We'll see. But I can't keep any promises~" Rouge said, before finally flying off to wherever she's off too.

With that small distraction taken care of, the group continued on their way back to New Nocturne. And along the way, Shade warned her Lord of Rouge. But Sonic assured Shade not to worry about it too much.

"She knows enough to keep her nose clean when there's something important at stake. Besides..." Sonic smiled as he nudged Shade playfully at the arm.

"If anything goes wrong, I always have you and the others to rely on." Sonic continued, his smile growing wider.

Shade merely nodded, looking at her Lord and smiling to herself.

* * *

It was already passed evening when they arrived. The moon had risen so beautifully tonight, making New Nocturne a truly wonderful sight to behold. Although not yet as grand as the original Nocturne, the center piece of the soon to be grand citadel is remarkable on its own. In fact, the main stronghold, home to Imperator Sonic's throne, lights up the rest of the citadel and the homes around it well enough despite not being complete just yet.

Vector and the rest the Chaotix gaped in awe as they circled about trying to get as much of the scenery as possible. Even Espio, the ever calm and disciplined Ninjutsu expert can't help himself from the rather wondrous sight. Sonic merely let the group of friends go about their business. He wanted the trio to grow comfortable with their surroundings as much as possible.

Charmy was the most excited of the trio, buzzing over and around the place in a very animated fashion, often asking questions from the people around them about how cool everything looked. Vector had to openly apologize to several of Sonic's people whenever the young bee asked too many questions.

"Sorry... he can be so annoying at times..." Vector said to a young male echidna who Charmy had asked about their battle-suits.

"It's no trouble, really." The male echidna replies as he moved along.

Eventually, the group makes it to the main stronghold. Sonic and Shade lead the trio in, entering the main hall of the stronghold, and eventually making it towards the throne room.

"What are we doing in the throne room again?" Sonic asked Shade, not quite sure he recalls why she wanted to go there first.

"We have to secure the Master Emerald first, my Lord." Shade says, as she gestures Sonic's bodyguards towards the center of the room.

"Now then, my Lord, use your gauntlet to bring down the Emerald's placeholder." Shade continued, looking over to her Lord.

"What?" Sonic asked, obviously perplexed by the request.

"Look up towards the ceiling, my Lord." Shade says, as she pointed upwards.

Sonic looked up to where Shade was pointing, and gawked slightly at the sight.

"What is that, Shade?" Sonic asked, looking up to see a massive structure. It looked like a chandelier of sorts, but it was somewhat machine-like, with the Nocturnus clan's signature neon lights around it. Highlighting the machinery's shape.

It took only a second before something clicked in Sonic's mind. He recalled seeing something similar at Ix's throne room from the original Nocturne.

"That looks like that thing Ix used to house the Master Emerald when we faced him." Sonic said, looking at the machinery with curiosity.

"Indeed it is, my Lord. It is a heavily defensible structure that will ensure the Master Emerald's safety." Shade said, as she looked up briefly before looking at her Lord once more. "And only you can access it."

"How?" Sonic asked, as he took his gaze away from the machinery and back to Shade.

"Your Imperator battle-suit can command it to lower down towards us. To do so, simply focus on it. Like all of our technology, everything runs on thought and emotion." Shade explained, walking up to her Lord and positioning herself by his right. "Here... let me help you, my Lord."

Shade takes Sonic's right arm, trying to aid her Lord in the use of his battle-suit's minor functions. Placing her left hand on Sonic's bicep while she placed her right hand under his gauntlet. Oddly, Shade unconsciously stole a quick grope of her Lord's bicep.

*Ooooh~* Shade thought, as she gauged her Lord's muscle. She had to admit, despite appearing skinny, her Lord definitely has a very toned and athletic musculature.

"Now what, Shade?" Sonic asked, catching the magenta echidna's attention from her thoughts.

"Oh! Yes, right... Here." Shade began, looking up towards the machinery above and doing her best not to lock eyes with her Lord.

"Now, I need you to focus my Lord. Focus your thoughts, and will the machinery above to lower itself." Shade instructed.

Sonic looked up at the machinery. In his mind, he blocked almost any other thought he had and focused at his task. He was no stranger to this form of command. With years of use of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic has learned how to fully tap into sources of power by will. And in mere seconds, his gauntlets stirred and glowed, and the machinery above began to glow as well.

*Down* Sonic thought, willing the machine above him to obey. And in no time at all, the machine lowered down.

"Good, my Lord. Now, re-focus your thoughts and make the machine open itself up." Shade said, taking a quick glance at her Lord's face before stealing an even quicker glance over the bicep she had groped before looking back towards the machine once more.

As he followed Shade's words, Sonic commanded the machine to open itself up. As he did, the machine whirred loudly as the neon lines encircling it flickered brighter in a brief second. And as it did, the machine rotated slightly as some of its arms opened up. In some ways, the giant chandelier looked like a massive crane's claw. Eventually, the machine finds itself low enough that it is surrounded its intended target, as Sonic's bodyguards lifted the Master Emerald slightly off the ground.

"Okay, my Lord, command it to clamp down on the Master Emerald." Shade said.

Sonic briefly nodded before focusing his thoughts to make the machine enclose the massive emerald. As the machine closed itself around the emerald, Sonic took the initiative and commanded the machine to lift the emerald up. And soon, the machine lifted the emerald up slowly towards the ceiling once more.

"I see that my Lord has gotten the hand of things." Shade commented, finally regaining the courage to look towards her Lord again.

"Of course." Sonic said, feeling his cocky nature rising.

As the machine reached its destination, several more machinery on the ceiling began to glow. Louder whirring sounds echo across the throne room as several pieces of what appears to be glass encircle the Master Emerald as they fit around the chandelier perfectly. As the glass encased the emerald, more machinary began to converge around it, securing the Master Emerald in a sea of glass and metal.

"Wow." The voice of Vector came from behind Sonic and Shade. The crocodile, and the rest of the Chaotix, had been at awe with sight that they seemingly lost their ability to speak until now.

"That was so cool!" Charmy blurted out, buzzing his way underneath the Master Emerald's perch.

"Well, now that the Master Emerald is secure. Perhaps it's time for us to have dinner, my Lord." Shade said, lowering her and her Lord's arm. Not realizing that she had unconsciously hooked her arm with Sonic's.

"That sounds good, Shade. Let's go guys." Sonic said cheerfully, somewhat unaware of Shade's arm around his. It wasn't until he moved and tugged on her arm that they realized the situation.

There was a brief pause of sorts, with both Sonic and Shade looking towards their entangled arms while Shade blushed and found herself paralyzed with embarrassment. Shade looked up slowly, making contact with her Lord's eyes and seeing his cheerful smirk. She turned her head away, unable to really look towards him as she tried to snake her arm away from Sonic.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-" Shade began, but stopped when she felt her Lord's arm tug and tighten their entwined arms.

"It's alright, Shade. Come on, let's walk towards the mess hall together." Sonic said, swaying his free arm in a beckoning manner.

Shade finally brought her gaze back towards her Lord, but still somewhat avoiding to lock eyes with him.

"If... If my Lord wishes..." Shade said, trying hard not to stammer and bringing her free hand up to hover lightly in front of her face.

And thus, Sonic's bodyguards went ahead forward. Gesturing the Chaotix to follow as they lead the group to the mess hall. Trailing behind them were Sonic and Shade, walking slightly slower than usual.

* * *

It was late. Sonic, Shade and the Chaotix had a wonderful meal at the mess hall earlier that evening. And to their surprise, Tails came and joined them. He told the group how busy he was all day with moving all of his stuff to his place inside New Nocturne, and apologized that he must've missed out on a lot of things. Sonic didn't mind, as well as the others. After dinner, Sonic tried to explain to Tails of what happened with Knuckles... But he opted to tell him in the morning.

It took a bit of effort, but Sonic also found lodging for Vector and the rest of the Chaotix. They were temporarily holed up at an empty room inside the stronghold. Sonic said he'll find something more suitable in the morning.

Sonic was tired. After all, after the injuries he got from that incident with Knuckles, his body just ached for bed-rest. He just didn't try to bother telling it to Shade at the time.

He was in his room now, sitting at the edge of his bed as he carefully ran the events of the day all over again. And that was when a knock came to his door.

"My Lord... may I... may I come in?" The voice of Shade came from the other side.

"Of course. Come in, its open." Sonic said, as he watched the door open to reveal Shade.

"I apologize for disturbing you so late... I simply needed to speak to you of tomorrow." Shade explained, walking up to her Lord.

"It's okay, don't worry. Come on, sit next to me." Sonic said, patting the space next to him to gesture Shade to sit with him.

Shade did as she was told and sat next to her Lord. She was hesitant, of course, which made what she wanted to talk about even more difficult. She blushed again, although not quite as bright as usual. She mentally scolded herself, quite perplexed as to why she was finding it increasingly difficult being in her Lord's presence. Her heart raced, and found herself unable to form words. But she willed herself forward. She wasn't going to let nervousness conquer her.

She took a deep, somewhat shaky, breath and making Sonic raise a brow before she exhaled and faced him.

"I'd like to start out by apologizing, my Lord." Shade began, her confidence returning slightly.

"For what?" Sonic asked, looking confused as he shifted his weight on his bed to get a better view of Shade beside him.

"With everything... Not telling you about the emerald crisis, the Prefect Gizoids, and the incident with Knuckles... I just-" Shade began, trying to keep calm, but Sonic shushed her.

"It's fine, Shade. You had your reasons. And the situation with Knuckles... Well, with time, maybe I can fix the issue. Till then, its best we deal with these Prefect Gizoids." Sonic said, finally lying down on his bed.

"You seem awfully lax about this, my Lord." Shade said, shifting up on the bed to look over Sonic.

"We've dealt with those gizoids before. And from my experience, they weren't really that difficult to fight." Sonic said confidently, placing his hands behind his head.

"If I recall correctly, Charyb had the advantage on you when you were all submerged in water. And Tails told me how you could hardly hurt him till the water level went down." Shade said, a cheeky smile on her face.

"Well... Water is my weakness! He had the battlefield advantage, that's all. But when the water went down, we gave the gizoid quite the beating." Sonic said, sitting up.

"(Chuckle), I can imagine." Shade said, feeling quite relaxed and happy. "But as much as I enjoy our conversations, its best we get a goodnight's sleep."

"Why?" Sonic asked, as he watched Shade turn and hop off his bed.

"Well, after all the time that has passed, and after speaking with my father- I mean, Praetorian Rufous, I realized that we never really celebrated your coronation, my Lord." Shade explained, making her way out of her Lord's room.

"Now that I think about it, yeah we didn't. Wait... so..." Sonic began, but didn't finish as Shade continued.

"So, we'll be having a grand celebration tomorrow. We'll gather up the people, decorate the plaza, set up a wonderful feast, you'll make speech, and we'll all simply eat and dance the night away." Shade explained, strangely looking forward to all of it.

"Sounds like it's going to be one heck of a party!" Sonic exclaimed, excited by the idea.

"It will. It'll be the first time, in a long time, that my people will have a celebration like this. It'll... also be my first time experiencing it..." Shade said, looking down on the floor as she did.

"You've never experienced a party before?" Sonic asked, looking somewhat dumbfounded.

"I was born at the time when Imperator Ix was at power. You can probably understand why there were no reasons to celebrate anything..." Shade said, trying to push away small traces of memories from her past.

"Oh... I'm sorry..." Sonic apologized, as he stood up and walked over towards Shade.

"Its okay... I'm-" Shade began, before feeling arms wrapped around her. She looked up to see her Lord, his body enclosed around her own.

Shade felt her heart race, as well as her cheeks warm as she felt her Lord's own warmth around her. She also felt... she couldn't quite explain the feeling, but it felt as if all the burdens of the world evaporate away from her. She felt lighter... almost like air... and that the only thing keeping her from flying away was the secure embrace that Sonic has around her. Shade eventually hugged back. Not wanting to drift away...

She didn't know when it happened... but she felt the soft feel of her Lord's soft bedsheets underneath her. But it didn't matter... with her arms and his against one another, she simply let herself eventually fall asleep in his arms.

* * *

To be Continued...


End file.
